Revenant
by steelguardsexual
Summary: Lightning had thought that things would turn out well once she arrived in Ivalice, but when she ends up mixed with a band of sky pirates and a false Judge seeking the Eternal, she realizes nothing will be the same. Sequel to 24.
1. A Lesson In Pirating

**Author's Note:** _I've been waiting a while to start writing this. If only Revenant Wings was for the PS2 and not the DS...Anywhoo, I dedicate this first chapter to my awesome reviewers: __**The Giant Daifuku**__, __**Joshua Chung**__ and __**HopelessRomanticist**__! :D_

_By the way, any narration lines you see will be Serah's inner monologue to Lightning. Just thought I'd clear that up with you._

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**R** e v e n a n t

Chapter One

A Lesson In Pirating

The sun nearly blinded Lightning when she stepped out of the _Strahl_, the wind blowing around the floating island and brushing across her face. Her upper lip twitched when she realized she couldn't feel the cold gusts against her skin, and she turned around in time to see a red pom-pom sticking out from the door way. Nono peered around the corner, bounding down the steps with a worried glint in his beady eyes.

"Miss Lightning!" he called, waving his arms. "Master Balthier wouldn't want you walking out on your own! _I_ don't want you to get hurt, either, kupo! This world is dangerous!"

She smiled, patting the moogle's head. "I'll be fine, Nono," she answered. "Tell Balthier that he needs to hurry up. I'm getting tired of waiting for this treasure he's been promising me."

Nono happily nodded, hopping up the stairs in time to almost run right into Fran. The viera raised an eyebrow at him, but he scurried past before she could say a word to him. Lightning rested her palm against her forehead when she heard Nono calling out for Balthier, running around the air ship in search or his apparently lost master.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to this world," she murmured, just as Fran walked down the stairs and stood beside her. "At least not until Balthier figures out that he needs to take less time in the morning getting ready for the day."

Fran nodded. "A morning ritual, he calls this."

Muttering under his breath as he walked toward the other two women, Balthier rubbed the back of his neck and narrowed his eyes at Nono, who was following him with a confident grin on his face. The moogle huddled up against Lightning's legs, his tiny paws warm against her skin. She blankly stared at him, but she chose not to ask what was wrong. She'd find out eventually, nonetheless. Balthier didn't like to keep too many secrets from her.

"Light, I don't appreciate having wrenches and the like thrown at me by an angered moogle," the sky pirate stated, adjusting the cuffs of his sleeves. "Your impatience will get the best of you one of these days."

"So will your vanity," she replied, smirking.

He turned his attention elsewhere, looking toward the long road ahead of them. "Watch over the _Strahl_ for me, will you, Nono? We'll be back once we discover the treasure."

Nono peered out from behind Lightning's legs. "Be careful, kupo!" he chimed. "If Miss Lightning gets hurt, I'll never forgive you!"

Balthier scoffed. "And here I thought you were working for me this entire time..." He and Fran then began to walk away from the air ship, and Nono folded his arms and sighed. Lightning patted the moogle's head once before following the two sky pirates down the road, looking toward the clouds as she walked on.

_Things have changed, haven't they, Claire?_

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Ivalice had been just as she imagined; an endless sky awaiting to be explored, seas calling out her name...If only she could hear them. She didn't mind that she could no longer feel pain, but all the feelings of warmth were no longer there. Often she would end up pricking her finger on her gun blade and wouldn't notice until Balthier saw the blood on her hands. It worried them both, but there was nothing they could do. She was undead, and he was hume.

Her return had surprised him, though Fran seemed to have known beforehand. She later revealed that it was her who left behind the auracite on Gran Pulse, knowing that neither Balthier nor Lightning could stand being apart. The only detail that remained a secret was that Lightning, after touching the auracite, had recovered her memories of the time spent with Balthier and the other l'Cie.

Just as she suspected, time had begun again in Ivalice, starting from the time after the _Bahamut_'s destruction; the time when Balthier and Fran presumably died. A year had passed since that day, and now the two were after a new treasure; something that they remained silent about. The Cache of Glabados had been returned to its rightful place in Bervenia, but instead of using the auracite to travel to another world, Balthier had given a piece to Vaan and Penelo, and kept the other for himself. He wore a part of it around his neck, and the rest was hidden in one of the pouches on his belt.

After their surprise reunion, Balthier revealed that he and Fran were to travel to the hidden world in the skies: Lemurés. Lightning quietly demanded that she go along, not wanting to be separated from him after so long a time. He mentioned that Snow would be more than happy to have her stay at the palace with he and Ashe, but she clearly wanted to stay away from the blond man for a while; she wasn't ready to face him just yet.

The Purvama of Lemurés reminded her of Gran Pulse; untamed wildlife, caverns and temples everywhere...The only different thing was that there were pieces of floating land across the sky, all differing in climate. The one the _Strahl_ landed in was called Tornelados, Isle of the Megalith. They were to find the Fane of Telp Qul, where the so-called treasure was hidden.

"Be careful not to look too far over the edge," Balthier reminded her when they reached a temple. Lightning was leaning over the rocks to see if Ivalice was visible past the clouds below. "You're like to fall and lose your memory again. A man once fell from Bhujerba and survived, though he couldn't even remember his name..."

She let out a weak laugh and turned around to face him. "I'll survive the fall, anyway," she answered. "Might break a few bones here and there, but that's no problem for me."

"That's what I'm afraid of..."

The wind continued to blow around them, and Fran tilted her nose up when the breeze faded. Balthier walked up to her noticing her sudden tension, but she only shook her head.

"The aegyl know we are here," she murmured. "They lie in wait, fearing our cause."

"You're only sky pirates. What's there to fear?" Lightning asked, stepping down the rocks and looking around the cliffs. "We're just here for the treasure, aren't we? Unless there is something you're not telling me..."

"We best make haste for the Fane. I'd rather not have winged fiends at my heels for the time being," Balthier said with a shrug. "Once we're within its walls, perhaps then they won't be afraid of us."

"Perhaps it is the residual Mist upon you that they fear," the viera answered. "Ragnarok may be gone, yet its touch still lingers upon your mind. They fear the power."

Lightning avoided Balthier's gaze at this point, pretending that the clouds below had distracted her again. She preferred to ignore any mentions of the once-god, yet every time she thought of it she found herself missing its presence. It had been there since she had known Balthier, and even though she didn't know it then, part of the reason why she had felt so close to him was because of Ragnarok.

"Then let's do them a favor and leave before anything bad happens," she finally said, pushing past Balthier and walking down the path toward the temple embedded in the cliffs. "We'll get the treasure, leave and do whatever you pirates do after your hunts, all right?"

He laughed quietly, shaking his head. "My dear, you have a lot to learn about sky pirating."

She stopped in mid-step, raising an eyebrow and resisting the urge to see the look on his face. "I do, huh? Care to enlighten me, sky pirate extraordinaire Balthier?"

"Oh, you'll learn soon enough." He walked past her, and Fran shot her an uneasy glance when the three of them entered the Fane of Tehp Qul.

There was something amiss about the place, but she couldn't quite place her finger on it. The walls were covered with moss, and it looked as if no one had been there for many years. Fran had mentioned that there was a race of humanoids living on Lemurés, but they had remained a mystery to even the viera. Aegyl, they were called, or some such. Human like beings with wings? She had never heard of such things, even in an insane world like Cocoon.

Balthier ended up lighting a torch, or rather, Fran had to cast a fire magick spell in order for them to see where they were going. For reasons unexplained, Balthier had vowed to never use magick in his life again the moment he returned to Ivalice. Lightning was tempted to ask him why, but there was an unspoken tension whenever Fran used magick during either battle or for times like now.

"You would think that the aegyl would have made it easier to navigate these areas," he mumbled under his breath. "They must have taken the advice of the Occuria, to build such a maddening temple in their gods' names."

"Pulse is no different," Lightning told him, walking at his side. "I seem to remember the temples there being almost just as complex. Statues of the fal'Cie, the occasional Cie'th Stone..."

"And the terrifying beast lying in wait for the six l'Cie and their hume pet?"

"That, too."

Fran suddenly grabbed them both by the shoulders, stopping them from walking into an open chamber at the end of the hall. Balthier gave her a puzzled look, but her eyes remained forward and unmoving. There was a low whirring sound up ahead, and with it the quiet clanking of metal. Lightning slid out of the viera's grasp, taking slow steps into the chamber with her hand placed upon the hilt of her gunblade.

There were crystals along the cavern's walls, all varying in color and size, and she could feel the Mist pouring out from them. "Magicite?" she whispered, touching one of the crystals within arm's reach. It felt warm in her hands. "No, it has to be auracite..."

"_The stones of the Eternal_."

Immediately she unsheathed her blade and swung around, blocking the swords carried by the masked woman in armor; judge's armor. There were two large, metal wings on the back of her armor; silver. She could hear the rushed footsteps of both Balthier and Fran, but she didn't dare turn her eyes away.

"Who are you?" she demanded. Her eyes flickered toward the larger crystal encased in a mechanical device. "What are you planning to do with the auracite?"

"_The Judge of Wings, I am called. And you...You are Eternal, are you not?_"

Lightning flinched, and Balthier quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the Judge. He aimed the fomalhaut at the woman, a small smirk forming on his lips. However, the Judge turned toward Fran, standing near the encased crystal, and sent a burst of Mist toward the viera. Before either of them could reach her, Fran fell against the wall of the cavern and slid down to the ground, eyes closed in slumber.

"_You have obtained eternity, daughter of Etro. Yet it is the decision of one that has changed you. You seek eternity for another._"

After glancing toward the mechanical device beside them, Balthier pushed Lightning behind him and took a step toward the Judge of Wings. "Roses have thorns," he stated, "this much I've come to expect. But you, my dear, poison yours. You've no sense of fair play." He reached into one of the pouches on his belt and pulled out the violet stone; one part of the Cache of Glabados. "So long as you are a slave to a Stone, you'll never change."

Without warning, he threw the stone into the air and fired at once at it, shattering it with the bullet. Lightning felt the pieces land around them, but she didn't dare move from where she stood.

Balthier was still smirking. "Only fools let themselves be trapped by broken dreams," he said. "Your 'eternity' is an illusion."

The Judge of Wings began walking toward them. "_Illusion is the only true reality_," she answered. "_Our desire for the Eternal is the desire to become undying. Ask, and I can make eternity a reality for you. Is that not what She wants?_"

"All this talk of dreams and desire...I'm like to take you for a lover, not a foe." He rested the fomalhaut on his shoulder, tilting his head to the side. "And now I'm going to bury your dreams with your stone. It's time you opened your eyes to reality."

He easily dodged the sword slashed directly at him, and Lightning moved to block the next attack from the Judge, but Balthier purposely stood in front of her.

"Tire of foreplay so soon?" he asked, when the Judge took a step back from he and Lightning. "I suppose I'm going to have to tame our winged shrew, now, won't I?"

"_Not this day._"

With a wave of her hand, and a stone she held, the Judge summoned a bright light that erupted between Balthier and Lightning. An esper, Shiva, appeared behind the sky pirate and sent a flash of ice and Mist toward him. She disappeared the moment he dropped his gun and fell forward, but Lightning quickly rushed forward and caught him in her arms. Scowling, she glared up at the Judge of Wings.

_Claire, be careful!_

"What do you want?" Lightning asked. "How do you know so much about-"

The Judge lowered her sword, and looked back at the female soldier. "_You are undying, touched by the goddess of your realm. Yet you walk with those once damned? Why?_"

"Who are you to say that? This fate I've obtained is not one I would have chosen." She pulled Balthier's limp form closer to her chest, cradling him in her arms. "So, what? Eternity isn't forever."

"_But it _is._ You have been blessed with eternity, to live with gods, but he...He will not live forever. He will die, in time._"

In a flash of light, the Judge disappeared, and Lightning was left to find comfort in her tears that could not fall.

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_Why did this take me all day to write? I got distracted. By playing the actual game of Revenant Wings. :D_

_Note about the title of this story: Yes, it's partially from 'Revenant Wings', but I looked up the meaning of revenant and found this definition: '_a person who returns after a lengthy absence_'._ _Fits with this story, yes?_


	2. Trust

**Author's Note:** _You may have noticed the genre change for this story; more so, the sudden added 'romance'...Yup, I'm going to be adding in some more apparent romance between our dashing leading man and his leading lady. Granted, it's not gonna be very heavy on the romance, since I prefer this pairing to be very...subtle. :) And, besides, I'm not into straight-forward kinky things. I prefer the poetic kind, thank you very much! (Then again, Balthier says the most suggestive of things, at times...)_

_My thanks goes to __**The Giant Daifuku**__ and __**HopelessRomanticist**__, as always._

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**R** e v e n a n t

Chapter Two

Trust

_Do you remember when mom and dad died, Claire, and you took care of me? I just wish...that I could say that this would be just as easy. You can't always take care of everyone, even if you have eternity to do so..._

Nono wasn't pleased when Lightning returned to the _Strahl_ carrying an unconscious Balthier in her arms, followed by a weakened Fran. He was glad to see that she was all right, and even though he was highly frustrated with the sky pirate, he wasn't happy to see the damage that had been done.

She ended up taking control of the ship while Fran tended to Balthier's wounds, and despite her worry for what had happened, she knew that it wouldn't be right to let it distract her. Normally she wouldn't allow someone like the Judge of Wings, whoever she was, to bite at her nerves. All that talk of eternity and illusions...She didn't know what to make of it.

By the time night fell, Lightning was the only one still awake. Nono had kept her company until he had dozed off in the co-pilot's seat, and Fran hadn't said a word to her since they returned. She was used to being ignored by the viera, of course. All that had happened back on Pulse, all the things that went wrong, they were her fault. Fran seemed to still hold a grudge against her; a silent one, but still a strong grudge. At times she wondered if she was even welcome on the ship.

True, her arrival in Ivalice was a surprise to all, but she had wondered if there had been something going on that she had interrupted. Balthier and Fran had been on some hunt in the Phon Coast when the two orphans turned sky pirate had brought her to them. There might have been other reasons for their being there that she may have ruined. But, still...

Lightning felt a blanket being draped over her shoulders, and she didn't have to look to know who it was.

"All work and no play," Balthier said, resting his head atop of hers and wrapping his arms around her shoulders. "You haven't changed the slightest, Light."

"I can't do much else," she muttered, not tearing her eyes from the sky before them. "You know that. With the way I am now, I can't even sleep, let alone relax."

"So you choose to be alone?" He almost laughed. "The least you could have done was force Nono to stay awake with you. It would seem that he prefers you over me now, though I don't blame him. Your company is more pleasurable than mine at times."

She moved her hands away from the controls, setting them on automatic pilot; for the time being, at least. "The company I give is nothing but ice-cold. I don't see how anyone can stand it, let alone you."

"Just wait until we journey to the deserts of Dalmasca. I'll be in need of your ice-cold _company_, then."

Swiftly, Lightning stood up from the seat and began to walk past Balthier, but he grabbed her hand and spun her back around. He pulled her into a warm embrace, wrapping his arms around her so that she wouldn't be able to move away, if she wanted to. Sighing quietly, she gently put her arms around his shoulders, resting her head into the crook of his neck.

"We need to talk," she said, but Balthier only laughed.

"Do we? Every time I've heard that, nothing good happens," he replied, slowly moving his hand against the back of her head. "I suppose you and I are in need of a good, long discussion. The gods can't seem to leave us alone."

"That woman - the Judge of Wings. She knew what I am." Lightning looked toward him, her lips in a small frown. "She called me an...Eternal, or something. The people in Ivalice don't have a special name for undead like me, do they?"

He shrugged. "Can't say. I've been here and there so much, it's hard to remember such things."

"I'd ask Fran, but..."

Balthier loosened his hold on her, taking a step back. "She'll warm up to you, no need to worry. What happened in the other world...She's not ready to let it go so easily. Fran may have told me to let go of the past, and yet..." He sighed, turning toward the hallway behind them. "We find ourselves caught in it over and over...A never-ending life."

"Like me?"

He didn't turn toward her right away; in fact, he was almost hesitant to face her. "I never wanted this to happen. Etro tried all she could, but even then-"

"It wasn't enough, was it?" Lightning held his hand, the warmth almost surprising her when their hands met. "Balthier, it's not your fault I'm like this. Maybe this was what was meant to happen, maybe I'm supposed to be an 'Eternal', or whatever I'm called...The Judge said that she could make you one, too. Maybe that means you're going to-"

"Light, don't." He looked her in the eyes, and touched her cheek; she resisted the urge to move closer to him, to drink in his warmth. "Eternity isn't what we all believe. Nothing lasts forever."

Balthier pressed his lips to her forehead, and then he walked down the hall without another word. Closing her eyes, Lightning sat back down in the pilot's seat and rested her forehead against the controls.

"Nothing lasts forever, huh?" she whispered. "Then what does that leave for us?"

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When morning came, Balthier landed the _Strahl_ nearby a mountain range, in a small village called Heaven's Vigil. There were no people around, at least from what Lightning could see when she walked out of the air ship. The aegyl, the winged beings who lived in Lemurés, were still in hiding, weary of their presence. She wondered if they knew something she didn't.

"We'll make for the caverns of Ymir Quil," Balthier stated when he faced the other two. "It's a long way from here, so be on your guard."

Lightning arched an eyebrow. "Are you sure leaving your ship in the care of a moogle is a good idea?" she asked. "Someone might come along and try to steal her from you. We can't risk anything in a new place like this, you know."

"Do you have any better ideas?"

She folded her arms across her chest, barely smirking. "I'll stay here."

"And risk having the filthy men trying to steal you from me? I think not." He shook his head. "The _Strahl_ may be the finest air ship in Ivalice, but I must say that you are far more valuable to me."

"The moogle can't fight. I _can_."

"Not against the creatures here."

"I've killed gods before."

"You've been killed by one before, as well."

"So have you."

Fran touched her partner's shoulder, stopping him from continuing the argument any further. "She will be fine," she said. "Do you not trust her?"

Balthier looked between them, and eventually he sighed heavily; giving in. "If there's anyone suspicious about," he told her, "you take the _Strahl_ and get yourself away from here. Understood?"

"And, leave you behind?" Lightning asked, leaning against the door and purposely blocking Nono's path. No doubt the moogle would have something to say about letting both Balthier and Fran leave on their own.

"Whoever falls behind, stays behind." He winked at her just as he turned around. "Pirate's code, darling."

"I'm a pirate now, am I?"

He merely waved good-bye to her as he walked away, and Fran only looked back once before quickening her pace. When Lightning turned around, Nono looked up at her with a slightly annoyed pout on his face. She only shrugged her shoulders, shutting the air ship's door when the two of them went back inside.

Letting Balthier go off on his own wasn't something she would normally allow, but whatever he was going after, he didn't want her to be a part of it. The Judge of Wings, auracite, the Eternal; Balthier knew about them, and wasn't going to tell her even if she asked. All she could do was prevent anything bad happening to what he cherished most.

After a while, when the day nearly faded into night, she started to grow impatient. Even Nono thought something was wrong, that something may have happened to the two sky pirates. Lightning went outside the air ship, grabbing her gunblade on the way out, only to be greeted by the pattering of rushed footsteps coming directly at her.

"Lightning!"

Vaan, Penelo, and the other orphans from Rabanastre ran to her. What were they doing in Lemurés? The two oldest orphans - or sky pirates, really - went right up to her and Nono, almost surprised to see that she was there.

Penelo nearly knocked her over with a sudden hug. "You're alive!" she exclaimed, just as she let go of the woman.

"Why would I be dead?" Lightning asked, looking at all their faces. There were two younger children, Kytes and Filo, with them, and there was a boy she hadn't seen before. He had large wings on his back, like a bird; was he an aegyl?

"Sorry," the dancer apologize, embarrassed. "It's just - I'm so glad to see you!"

Vaan moved closer to her, eager about something. "Where's Balthier?" he asked. "I've got a thousand things to ask him."

Lightning couldn't peel her eyes away from the boy's wings. Something seemed odd of the ordinary with him, but he wasn't as 'odd' as she was. She turned her gaze toward Vaan again, not surprised that he was still pressing questions about Balthier.

"What exactly happened between him and that Judge?"

Judge? She narrowed her eyes at the sound of the name, wondering how Vaan and the others had known about her. Unless, they, too, had met up with her. How else could they have known about the earlier confrontation? "That's something for him to tell you," she answered, finally. "Not me."

"Well, yeah, but-"

She smiled weakly, looking down at Nono for a moment. "Then go on. He and Fran are in the mountains ahead."

"What about you, Lightning?" Penelo asked, walking forward a bit. "Why aren't you with him?"

Turning away from them, she looked toward the cliffs and mountains in the distance. "There are some things we're not meant to see. Things we aren't meant to know."

There was an awkward pause of silence, and it wasn't until Lightning shook her head that Vaan spoke. "Guess we'll have to see for ourselves," he muttered. "Thanks, Lightning!"

As soon as they were gone, she walked back toward the _Strahl_ and Nono, and he sighed when she walked right past him. She rested her head against the door frame, wrapping her arms around herself.

_It's okay to be scared, Claire._

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It seemed that there was more going on that she knew, that any of them knew. Not too long after Vaan and the others ran off, a group of sky pirates surrounded the _Strahl_ with their weapons at the ready. Nono hopped up onto Lightning's shoulder, hiding behind her head as the pirates leered in on them.

"Well, if it ain't Balthier's wench, the woman from the other world!" sneered a bangaa, unsheathing his long sword. "Ba'Gamnan's been lookin' for ye."

'Wench'? Lightning rolled her eyes. "He plans to use me to draw out Balthier, huh? Tell your master to come up with some new tricks," she purred. "You pirates need to learn how to handle a woman."

A female mage scowled, tightening her grip on her cloud staff. "We've no interest in your critique of our methods!" she screeched.

"We'll have your guts for garters right her and now, aye!" the bangaa added. "Your silver tongue will find no purchase with us!"

"Then figure out which of you guys is going to capture me, then." She pulled out her gunblade, and Nono huddled closer against her neck. "Try as you like, but you're not going to succeed. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve, too, actually."

She blocked the lizard's sword, barely dodging a thunder bolt sent in her direction from the mage. Nono squeaked when his pom-pom was singed, and he crawled on top of Lightning's head in an attempt to get away from the enemy sky pirates. The bangaa leaped toward them, and a male pirate readied his lance when he ran up from behind. Lightning swerved around in time to see Vaan jumping right in front of her, blocking the attack.

"Not so fast!" he exclaimed, slashing his diamond sword at their enemies. "We'll take care of 'em, Lightning!"

Filo and Kytes went after the mage pirate, while Vaan and the aegyl took care of the other two pirates. They summoned creatures to aid them in battle, distracting the pirates from Lightning and Nono. Penelo rushed over to her, readying a cure spell to heal her.

"Lightning, here," she said, but Nono jumped down from Lightning's head and grabbed the girl's hands before the spell could be released.

"Miss Lightning does not like magick!" he squeaked, dimming the spell's power with his paws. "Especially magick of the white kind! So, please, do not cast it!"

Lightning didn't quite understand what he was trying to say, and the dancer looked between them in puzzlement, but her attention was swayed when Ba'Gamnan's sky pirates took off running down the hill. Vaan and the others walked back over to them, and once again Lightning found herself staring at the wings on the red-haired boy.

"Are you hurt, Lightning?" Vaan asked, smiling.

"I'm fine," she quietly answered, patting Nono's pom-pom when he hopped back over to her. "What are you doing here? I thought you went after Balthier and Fran."

He gave her a confident thumbs up. "We couldn't leave a friend out to dry." She raised an eyebrow, then she started to walk away. They looked to each other, confused, but Vaan wouldn't give up. "Lightning, why not come with us?"

She only looked back at them, not saying a word.

"You can't really expect us to leave you here alone. A pretty woman in the mountains...Who knows what could happen! Balthier wouldn't be happy with us if we just let you get captured by Ba'Gamnan's crew."

"So you're my guardian, then?"

Filo and Kytes started to laugh at Vaan's oblivious attitude, but the aegyl boy didn't even show a single smile. "What, don'tcha trust me?" Vaan asked, slouching his shoulders.

"Don't worry," she told him. "I can tell who can and can't be trusted. It's not that hard to see."

She returned to the _Strahl_, Nono following close behind, and smiled when she heard Vaan ask among the laughter around him, "What group am I in?"

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_Vaan, don't even try to get Lightning's attention. She's taken...by me! ;D Just kidding._


	3. Betrayal

**Author's Note:** _This part in the game...gave me a headache. Writing this did, too. I had a major conflict with writing this part; who would Lightning side with if pitted against both Balthier and Vaan (who vaguely reminds her of Snow)? Throw Ba'Gamnan into the mix, and you've got yourself a major complication in the storyline. Oy. Light, as Serah reminded you last chapter, you can't save everyone._

_My thanks goes to __**The Giant Daifuku**__ and __**HopelessRomanticist**__ for reviewing/giving me a message 'bout this story._

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**R** e v e n a n t

Chapter Three

Betrayal

Vaan had managed to find a new air ship, the _Galbana_, after he and Penelo had returned to Rabanastre. Lightning hadn't seen anything like it before in her life; it looked more like a flying fiend than an air ship. It needed no glossair rings to fly, and it seemed to not even have a navigation port. The _Galbana_ was definitely not a normal air ship, that was for sure. And its crew? Just as odd.

Filo and Kytes had been friends with Vaan for longer than any one could imagine, and the two often got into arguments about whatever task or hunt they were working on. Lightning was reminded of Vanille and Hope every time she saw them, and for a moment she would always feel the slightest bit homesick.

Tomaj ran a bar back in Rabanastre, but on the _Galbana _he had opened a small shop just so he would have something to do whenever the others were out and about. His assistant, Cu Sith, had some sort of obsession with Lightning's gunblade, and often asked if she could do some 'repairs' on it.

As for Vaan and Penelo...Each time she saw them together, whether they were with the others or not, she always thought of Snow and Serah. Vaan had the same hero-complex as the tall blond, and he always seemed to be watching out for those who could protect themselves on their own. Penelo worried non-stop about the younger members of their crew, yet she managed to keep her calm and stay focused on the task at hand. And, it wasn't hard to see that the two cared for each other more than they seemed to know.

The aegyl boy, who earned the most attention from Lightning, was named Llyud. Vaan and the others had rescued him sometime earlier, but by allying himself with humans he had been banished from his home. He rarely showed emotion and paid no attention to Lightning, unlike some of the _Galbana's_ other crew members.

It all started with a conversation between Vaan and Tomaj that she had overheard when they thought she was sleeping. Of course, being an undead, she couldn't actually sleep, but they didn't know that. She didn't plan on telling them, either.

"The air ship seems like a different place now," Tomaj said to Vaan in the bridge of the ship. "Don't you think?"

"Huh?"

"It's Lightning. There's just something about her...I can't quite put my finger on it..."

Then there was the conversation with Kytes later that night. The young mage was busy writing down something in a book, taking notes as Lightning was helping Penelo clean up the sky saloon after dinner. Vaan had noticed how much Kytes was watching their newest arrival, and decided to do something about it.

"I'm trying to help Tomaj think of a way to get Lightning's attention," was what he came up with when the older boy asked him what he was doing.

"You shouldn't encourage him, Kytes," Vaan answered, shaking his head in disapproval.

"I told him I didn't want to, but he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer!"

"Well, you're both wasting your time, if you ask me. I don't even wanna know what Balthier would think of all this."

Kytes frowned. "Oh, right, Balthier. Hm..."

When Lightning had asked Penelo about what exactly was going on with the others, she didn't have a direct answer. She only smiled and said that they were just being boys, and hadn't seen a woman like Lightning since leaving the city. A few days later, as she was trying to think up some way to go after Balthier and Fran, Lightning overheard Tomaj telling Vaan about the 'master plan' he and Kytes had come up with.

"We thought up the perfect plan to get Lightning's attention," Tomaj stated, grinning out of pride. "The wheels are already in motion. You have to put a lot of thought into wooing a mature woman such as her."

Vaan scoffed. "Mature is right."

"What kind of man is Lightning attracted to, I wonder..."

It wasn't too long later that she discovered what the 'perfect plan' was. In her room that she was sharing with both Penelo and Filo, the latter not happy with what they saw, there were multiple colors of flowers and papers covering the walls, the floor, and even the three beds. The letters contained multiple declarations of affection, as well as not-so impressive attempts to win her heart. Penelo apologized for the mess, while Filo merely shook her head and pouted.

When Vaan heard of what happened, he immediately went to Lightning. She was sitting on the railing behind the air ship's controls, watching the clouds pass by as they flew around Lemurés.

"I heard Kytes and Tomaj have been up to something," he said, standing beside her.

Lightning only shrugged. "I've noticed," she muttered. "They keep sending letters, flowers...I honestly don't know what to make of it."

"Sorry about that. Try not to let it bother you, okay?"

"Why would it bother me? It's not the first time this has happened."

Vaan blankly stared at her in disbelief. "Wait, you don't mean...Balthier?"

"His tactics were some-what...different, actually. He doesn't resort to mediocre gifts when attempting to get my attention. Back when we first met, we didn't have time for flowers and things like that. It just...started on its own." She caught Tomaj's eye from where he stood behind the notice board, putting up the latest task for the crew. He was obviously eavesdropping on their conversation, of course.

"Well, you two are together, aren't you? It'd be weird if, well, uh...You know."

"Balthier and I are just...us." She jumped down from the railing, smiling at the boy as she walked away. When she walked down the stairs, she could hear Tomaj pestering Vaan about how he managed to get her to smile. Needless to say, the attempts to 'woo' her ended not too long after that.

**

* * *

**

It had been a week since she had seen or heard from Balthier and Fran, and when she returned to the _Strahl_ to see if they came back, Nono had sadly told her that he hadn't heard from them either. She had tried to hide her worry for them, but Vaan could see how bothered she was at the news.

"Where'd they go, again?" he asked, walking up beside her. Penelo was standing with him, and the others were somewhere off in the distance.

"To the mountains," Lightning replied. "Balthier didn't say much when he left, only that if I saw anything suspicious going on, I would have to take the _Strahl_ and get somewhere safe."

Penelo frowned. "Wouldn't this be considered as suspicious? I mean, Balthier and Fran shouldn't be gone this long. What were they going after, I wonder..."

"What if they found another auralith? The Judge of Wings is going after the crystals, so maybe they went to get there before she does," Vaan added. "That's the only explanation I can think of."

"But then that would mean they're in danger! The Judge of Wings may have found them, which means they could be hurt, or worse..."

"Auralith?" Lightning asked, and when she mentioned that, Llyud looked over in her direction. "What's that?"

"That giant crystal in the cavern, before it was destroyed. That was what you went there for, with Balthier and Fran, right?"

"It's...where auracite comes from, isn't it?"

Vaan shrugged. "I'm not too sure. The other one was destroyed before we could find out anything."

"If that Judge is after it, then it probably has something to do with her so-called Eternal..."

"She mentioned that when we found her," the dancer explained. "And, even Velis talked about it, too."

"Velis?"

"A man we met when our air ship crashed the day before we found you and Nono. He..." She bit her lower lip. "He was a only part of what he once was years ago, brought back to life by the large crystal below the Isles."

Lightning folded her arms across her chest. "Brought back to life, huh? You have crystals here that can do that?"

"I think that's what the auralith can be used for, too," Vaan muttered. "I mean, why else would the Judge be after it? If she wants to find eternity, then she must be after a way to bring the dead back to life."

_Claire, please don't get carried away with this. I don't want you to get hurt in the end, even if it's from the truth. Nothing good comes out of the search for eternity._

**

* * *

**

They discovered a small cave leading into the depths of the Ymir Quil Mountain Range later that day, though it had been hidden by an unknown source of magick. Lightning was almost hesitant to go further, but she knew that Balthier was in there somewhere. It was her job to make sure nothing happened to him, or else all she worked for would mean nothing. He was the reason she came to Ivalice, after all.

As they took a short rest before they were to go further into the mountain, she noticed how quiet and distant Penelo seemed to be from the group. It wasn't until the girl walked over to her that she figured out what was going on.

"Um, Lightning?" she asked, fidgeting with the end of one of her long braids. "I was wondering. What are the things that are most important to you?"

"Why're you asking?"

Penelo looked toward the rest of the group, mainly toward Vaan, who was repeatedly explaining something to Filo and Kytes. "Just curious."

Lightning turned her eyes toward the sky, shielding herself from the glare of the bright sun above their heads. She took a deep, un-needed breath, and said, "To understand those around me, and to have them understand me. To feel like I belong, like I'm needed by them."

"I guess that's pretty important...Can I ask you something else?" The pink-haired woman nodded. "If you could live forever, what would you do? If you had forever to spend with someone who really understood you?"

"I'd want to be with them...on a night where the dawn would never come, and the sunrise wouldn't appear. Even eternity has to end, sometime." Lightning began walking toward the others, and Penelo quietly followed her. "It's just an illusion, nothing more. Remember that."

She caught Llyud watching her when she led the group down the tunnel, but she didn't need to ask why. It seemed that he knew about her, what she was, and he understood that. But, she could only hope that someone else would understand. _He_ would have to, eventually.

**

* * *

**

Lightning walked out into the cavern with her gunblade drawn, expecting another surprise like the one before. A pink auralith was encased within a device like the one before, and now she knew that it was meant to destroy the crystal. Fran, resting against the cavern's wall, stood wounded as she watched the others enter. Penelo went to her immediately, casting a cure spell to heal her. However, Lightning's attention was focused elsewhere.

Balthier stood before the Judge of Wings with the fomalhaut drawn, but from the way he was hunched over, it was clear that he wasn't in the best condition to be fighting. He pressed a hand against his side, blood staining the sleeve of his blouse despite how hard he tried to keep it clean. Through the corner of his eye, he saw Lightning running toward him, and once she stood at his side, he smirked.

The Judge of Wings raised her arms and summoned ice crystals in front of them, and in a loud crash an esper appeared. Mateus, the Corrupt, gazed down upon the pair and smiled twistedly.

"Balthier, Lightning, hold on!" Vaan exclaimed, running past the creatures - Yarhi - that the Judge had also summoned to battle. He had his diamond sword drawn, and two carbuncles came bounding after him.

One of the creatures cast a ruby cure spell on the pair, but the moment the spell hit Lightning, she fell to her knees. Her skin felt like it was on fire, and she had to close her eyes to stop the area from spinning around her. What was happening? Her gunblade almost slipped from her fingers as she struggled to stay focused on what was going on, but the seering pain was too much.

She felt Balthier wrap his arms around her, stopping her from losing consciousness. She clung to the front of his vest, her nails digging into the gold fabric, and she let out a weak cry when he pulled her close.

The burning began to subside, and as soon as she was able to open her eyes clearly, she noticed that the others were fighting off the Judge of Wings. Fran briskly walked to her partner and Lightning, touching the woman's hand and casting a dark magic spell. The pain faded away, and Balthier helped her stand once she recovered. She narrowed her eyes at him, and judging by the way he held her shoulder, he knew why she was so frustrated with him.

They didn't have time for discussion, or for the explanation Lightning wanted more than anything else. Mateus swung her lance at them, and Balthier grabbed Lightning's arm to pull her back before she could be impaled. Fran raised her bow and shot an arrow directly between the esper's helmeted eyes, and Llyud flew down from above and blocked the ice crystals sent in their direction by twirling his lance in front of him.

"It would be wise for you to avoid magick all together," he said to Lightning after stabbing a troll Yarhi in front of them. "White magick is not fit for those undead."

She nodded, understanding and not questioning how he knew her secret. "Got it," she mumbled, and went to join Vaan and the others in fighting against the Judge.

As soon as Balthier and Llyud defeated Mateus, the Judge of Wings retreated from the area, vanishing before their eyes. Lightning sheathed her gunblade and turned toward the two sky pirates, who were standing before the encased auralith and away from the rest of the group. She noticed the conflicted look in Balthier's eyes, but she couldn't ask him what was wrong. Vaan ran in front of her, anxiously standing by them.

"Balthier!" he said, "You weren't easy to find, you know."

Balthier didn't even glance in his direction. "Had I wished to be found, I'd not have hidden the entrance, now would I?" Lightning walked over to him, resting her hands on her hips the moment he looked to her. "Light, I thought I asked you to see to the _Strahl_."

"I got tired of waiting for you," she snapped.

"Not the answer I wanted to hear, so I'll pretend I didn't." He bent down and started to adjust the settings on the device. "On the bright side, at least there shouldn't be any further disruptions."

"Disruptions? From what?"

He ignored her, and glanced toward Vaan when he took another step toward them. "Ah, Vaan. See to our uninvited guests, would you?"

Sparks emitted from the device as it started up, and Lightning flinched when she began to realize what was going on.

"What are you doing?" Penelo asked, peering over Vaan's shoulder.

"Isn't it obvious?" Balthier turned toward them, crossing his arms. "I'm using the machine to destroy the Stone."

Lightning's eyes widened, and even Llyud was surprised. Vaan pulled out his diamond sword and held it toward the sky pirate. "Are you crazy?" he asked. Lightning reached for her gunblade, her eyes focusing on the young thief.

Balthier rested the fomalhaut on his shoulder, motioning for Fran stand beside him. "Vaan, please. Why must everything be so difficult with you?"

"What's gotten into you? Is this how the 'leading man' is supposed to act?"

"You're right. High time I stepped out of the limelight." His gaze moved in Lightning's direction, but his eyes widened the slightest bit when a slimy voice rang throughout the cavern.

"_Balthier_!"

Ba'Gamnan scrambled out from the shadows, swinging his circular saw around. His lackeys were nowhere to be seen, however. Lightning took another step forward, purposely standing in front of Balthier and Fran in case the bangaa was there for the more obvious reason.

"Found you at last!" he exclaimed, grinning like mad. "Ah, so long I've waited for this!"

"This day keeps going from bad to worse," Balthier droaned, shaking his head in disgust.

"And all your little friends here with you! We'll settle all our scores at once." Ba'Gamnan moved closer to them, and Vaan was about to strike against the bounty hunter when Balthier raised his arm and fired one shot from the fomalhaut. Everyone turned to face him, apart from Lightning, and stared in bewilderment.

"Too much talk," the sky pirate stated, "and too little listening."

Vaan frowned at his mentor, pleading with him. "Balthier, don't do it! I don't want to fight you!"

"Then don't. Stand back, and shut _up_."

The two sky pirates readied their weapons, and Lightning was about to pull out her gunblade when she caught Penelo's worried stare. She almost thought Serah was standing there, silently asking her not to fight, but Lightning had to remind herself that Serah was gone, and would never come back. And so she unsheathed her gunblade and held it toward Ba'Gamnan. Filo and Kytes exchanged glances as they backed toward Llyud and Penelo, but Vaan refused to move from where he stood with Lightning.

"If you won't change your mind," he murmured, gripping tightly onto the diamond sword, "I'll have to change it for you!"

Out of them all, Filo was the one who made the first strike against Ba'Gamnan. She flew past everyone on her hover-board, and slammed her tiny fist against the bangaa's snout. Unfortunately, she was tossed aside like a rag doll and left there, lying still, until Kytes rushed over to help her. Lightning dove into the fight, cutting down the Yarhi blocking her path to Ba'Gamnan, but still making sure that Balthier was in no immediate danger. If he was to fall, then she would have nothing left.

A large Yarhi, Titan, lunged at her all of the sudden, and she ducked down in time for Fran to shoot a flurry of arrows at it. Its bulging arm flung toward her again, and Lightning scurried beneath its legs to avoid getting hit. She could hear Vaan yelling to Llyud to help defend Penelo, to make sure that she wasn't hurt at all. The aegyl boy flew into the air and dove down in front of the dancer, just in time to stop the Yarhi summoned by Balthier from getting to her.

Just as Lightning turned around, Titan grabbed her by the leg and violently threw her against the cavern wall. She rolled onto her side, her gunblade slipping from her fingers when she fell, and there was a sickening crack when her head came in contact with the rocks beneath her. Everything became blurry, and everyone around her was nothing more than a bunch of shapes dashing about the area. It almost felt like her head had gone limp against her neck. When she pushed herself into a kneeling position, Titan's claws came in contact with her head, and she felt her neck snap once more.

"Lightning!" she heard Penelo cry out. "Vaan, go save her!"

"_..._I'm fine," the ex-soldier mumbled, slowly getting to her feet. She touched a hand to her neck, re-adjusting her bones and snapping them back into place. "Just gotta get used to breaking my neck, that's all."

Vaan was there at her side in an instant, staring at her with appalled eyes. She'd forgotten that no one but Balthier, Fran and Nono knew that she was an undead. When Titan returned to knock them both down, Lightning took the chance to jump into the air and climb onto its back after picking up her gunblade. Vaan and Kytes distracted it, so that she could stab her blade into its skull. Mist expelled from the bone, and she landed gracefully on her feet once the Yarhi faded away.

However, a yell from across the cavern stole her attention, and she found herself running as quickly as she could toward the auralith. Ba'Gamnan's hand forcibly slapped Balthier and sent him to his knees, but before the circular saw could slice through him, Lightning slid between the two and took the blow. The saw carved through her shoulder blade, but she only smirked when she felt her entire left arm go numb. Her eyes blazed up at the bounty hunter, despite the blood seeping down her arm.

"The undead wench protects her master?" Ba'Gamnan snarled, leering. "You'll make a fine feather for my cap, girl!"

Lightning pulled the saw out of her arm, and with one hand she swung her gunblade at the bangaa and sent him flying across the cave. Mist seered through her hand, dissipating once the Yarhi creatures died out. Ba'Gamnan took off running, and once she knew that Balthier was safe, Lightning collapsed to the ground, gripping her torn shoulder.

She felt gentle, clawed hands lift her up, and dark magick began to sew her arm back together. Fran moved away from her, turning her attention to what was going on in front of the encased auralith.

"Let's not do anything hasty, Vaan," Balthier purred, dodging the sword swung in his direction.

Vaan's lips were formed in a tight grimace. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?" he asked. "You're gonna destroy the entire world!"

Balthier shrugged his shoulders, taking a step back. "I'd say the situation has gotten a little beyond your ability to comprehend."

"But we have to save the aegyl!"

"Oh, I couldn't agree more." He aimed the fomalhaut toward the device attached to the crystal, almost twistedly smirking. "That's why the Stone has to go."

Destroy the auralith? Lightning dashed forward, reaching out her still numb hand. "No, Balthier! Don't-"

There was an ear-shattering bang, and the Mist shot out as the crystal erupted into thousands of tiny pieces. Lightning fell to her knees, the light blinding her, and clutched her head as if something was trying to force its way into her mind. She felt someone grab her hand and pull her up from the ground, yet everything blurred and became nothing but darkness.

**

* * *

**

_Woot._


	4. Realm of Neverending Illusions

**Author's Note:** _Soooo, just to clear the air: in my storyline, Eternal are those who can live forever, from being a god or by being blessed with eternal life by one. So, that's why Lightning is called __**an**__ Eternal, not the Eternal (like Feolthanos). Also, in my version, Yarhi are the beings that Feolthanos has held captive as soon as they die. ;)_

_My thanks, as always, goes to __**HopelessRomanticist**__, __**The Giant Daifuku**__ and __**Joshua Chung**__!_

**

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**

**R** e v e n a n t

Chapter Four

Realm of Never-ending Illusions

"_Can you hear me, Claire_?"

Lightning's eyes fluttered open as soon as she heard Serah's gentle voice bringing her back to reality - or rather, whatever place she was in. She recognized it the moment she saw the flowers beneath her: it was the dream realm. _Her_ dream realm. She half expected Ragnarok, pretending to be Balthier, to walk up behind her as before, but instead it was Serah who stood near the edge of the field.

"Serah," she whispered, quickly standing up and rushing to her sister. "You're-"

"_It's all right, Claire. This is a dream_." Serah wrapped her arms around her, and surprisingly she didn't flinch when she felt Lightning's cold skin against hers. "_Everything is happening as it was meant to be. You'll see, once you wake up._"

Even though she knew none of it was real, and that Serah was still gone, Lightning slowly moved her arms around the young girl and held her close. It was almost as if nothing had changed. Yet, the bullet wound in Serah's chest only reminded her of what had happened the year before. The blood was still fresh and warm, as if the incident had only happened a few moments ago.

Serah took a step back from her older sister, smiling kindly, and turned toward a young man standing a short distance away from them. He had short blond hair, and wore the armor of a Dalmascan soldier. Like Serah, he wore the injury that had apparently killed him. A stab wound to the heart.

"_Velis and I have been watching over you_," she explained, and the soldier - Velis - walked over to them. "_We knew that, eventually, you'd find your way here._"

"Here?" Lightning frowned. "Where exactly is 'here'? This place was the same place I always saw in my dreams. The dreams where Ragnarok would visit me, and..." Her voice trailed off, and she sighed weakly. "But, if you're here, and if Velis is here...Does that mean I died?"

The girl stifled a laugh. "_No! I mean, you technically are already dead, but your body is still in_ _Lemurés__. Your soul is here, in the Isle of Illusions._"

"Isle of Illusions?"

"_This is where Yarhi await to be summoned_," Velis explained. "_They dream until it is their time to battle. When they die, they return here, where the cycle begins anew._"

"So, what? I'm a caged monster now?"

Serah shook her head. "_Claire, you're always jumping to conclusions, aren't you?_"

"As long as I don't know anything about what's going on with me, yeah. I'm going to assume the worst." Lightning looked between the two of them, squinting her eyes. "Wait. If you two are here, in the world of the Yarhi, what does that make you?"

"_Yarhi_," the two answered in unison.

"So my own _sister_, who _died_ last year, is summoned into _battle_?" Lightning yelled, eyebrows furrowed. "There's no way in hell I'm going to allow that!"

"_Claire_," Serah pleaded, touching her older sister's arm. "_Yes, it wasn't my choice to become a Yarhi. But, this way I can still be with you, and Snow. I can help you fight this coming battle._"

"Battle? I take it you know about this whole 'Eternal' deal, right? What do auracite and the auraliths have to do with being an Eternal?"

"_I think you already know the truth. They say magicite has the power to grant the one who wields it eternal life, a lot like a l'Cie being crystallized. But, that's not all it can be used for. It can bring the dead back to life...Or, so it's believed._"

"Bring the dead back to life," Lightning murmured, looking down at her hands. "Why do I get the feeling Balthier hasn't been telling me the truth..."

Velis nodded once. "_He wants to save you. Being an undead is not the life he wanted for you, but it was all Etro could do. Destroying the auralith was his way of not only saving the captive aegyl anima, but your life, too. Balthier meant well._"

"And he risked his own life to save mine. He's an idiot," she scoffed. "I can't die, but he _can_. Why risk everything for me?"

"_It's been four years_," Serah murmured, shaking her head in disapproval, "_and you still haven't realized how much Balthier cares about you? It won't be long until he'll join us here, as a Yarhi. Feolthanos won't stop until Ragnarok is gone for good._"

"Feolthanos?" Where had she heard that before?

"_The god who keeps us here, and steals the souls of the aegyl. The god who controls Mydia. The god who is an Eternal, just like you._"

**

* * *

**

_Just like you._

Lightning woke with a start, grabbing the wrist of the one person closest to her. Penelo was about to cast white magick to heal her, and Vaan was standing in the door way, watching them in confusion. Nono had warned her about white magick, and what happened in the Ymir Quil caverns proved that she, as an undead, couldn't stand the holy.

"It's okay, Lightning," Vaan said, walking toward them. "She's only trying to help."

The ex-soldier sat up from the bed, rubbing her sore neck and glancing between the two faces staring at her. "Where's Balthier?" she demanded; always the first thing on her mind. "And Fran? What happened with the auralith?"

"Balthier arrived here just before we did, carrying you in his arms and demanding that someone heal you," Penelo answered, fiddling with one of her braids. She must have been nervous. "Fran had no more magick energy, and Tomaj doesn't know a thing about magick. So, when we came back, he told us what happened and asked us to help you."

"Don't you want to get better?" Vaan asked. "Penelo's the best white mage I know, and-"

"White magick doesn't work on me," Lightning interrupted, pinching the cut on her arm so it would heal quicker. "I'm...I'm not exactly alive. I'm what you would call an undead."

The two blondes stared at her with big eyes. Penelo covered her mouth to stifle a gasp, while Vaan merely stood there with his jaw dropped.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to go mad and try to kill you," she reassured them, and they relaxed slightly. "I was killed back in my world, but Balthier made a deal with the goddess Etro and brought me back to life. Only, I'm not really alive anymore. I can't die, dark magick heals me, and I'm...an Eternal. All because of what Balthier did. To save me."

"Balthier did that for you?" Penelo smiled, her cheeks turning pink. "How romantic!"

Vaan rolled his eyes. "'Nelo, there's nothing romantic about being all dead and un-alive, and-"

"You've never been in love, so you wouldn't understand!" Before Vaan could ask who she was 'in love' with, Penelo turned toward Lightning and took hold of one of her hands. "But, being undead...Does it bother you? You're so..._cold_."

"It's better than not being here with everyone." She pulled her hand away, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "Where are the others, anyway? You said Balthier came back."

"I think they're on the bridge. If you're feeling okay, I guess we can go on ahead."

**

* * *

**

The three walked up the stairs and into the sky saloon, and as soon as Lightning stood beside the fountain in the middle of the large room, Nono came hopping over to her. He hugged her legs tightly, rubbing his tiny nose against her boots.

"Miss Lightning!" he squeaked. "You're alive!"

She chuckled quietly, patting his pom-pom. "Figuratively, sure. Is Balthier with you?"

Tomaj, peering out from behind the counter of his shop, grinned when he met Lightning's eyes. "Good to see the sleeping beauty is finally up," he greeted, and Vaan groaned in annoyance. "I've kept our guests waiting for you on the bridge."

Not even giving him the chance to attempt to charm her, Lightning hurried up the steps, Vaan and Penelo following close behind. They passed by Filo and Kytes, who were both confused about what was going on, and even Llyud looked the slightest bit puzzled by Lightning's sudden frustration. As soon as they walked out onto the bridge of the _Galbana_, Lightning heard his voice.

"Good of you to join us."

Balthier was casually leaning against the controls of the Galbana, his arms folded across his chest and his lips pulled into a tight smirk. His viera partner was standing close to him, though her one of her ears twitched when she heard Lightning's pace quicken apart from Vaan and Penelo as the three approached them.

Gritting her teeth together, Lightning clenched her fist and punched Balthier right in the face, knocking him down onto the floor. He stared at her with a wide eyes, though even through her fury she could see that he was trying to hide his amusement. Penelo gasped and tried to get in between them, but Fran stepped in front of her and shook her head, remaining silent.

"I've had it with you!" Lightning snapped, leering down on him. "You could have told me what you were planning! Using the auralith and its magicite to bring me back to life...Who do you think you are, making us all think you'd turned against us?"

He sighed heavily, massaging his cheek as he slowly stood up. "And you're supposed to be my leading lady," he murmured. She moved to hit him again, but that time he grabbed her hand before she could. The two of them stared at each other in silence, until Lightning pulled away from him and stood back with the two younger sky pirates.

Penelo frowned. "Why don't we get everything out in the open," she said, "to clear the air? No more secrets."

Fran, however, shook her head. "I think not."

There was a sudden crash outside the ship, and everyone turned to see Tomaj and Nono running up the stairs. Both bore a look of anxiousness on their faces.

"We're under attack!" the young man exclaimed. "The Galbana's surrounded!"

Lightning scowled, purposely walking ahead of Balthier, and followed Vaan and Penelo off the air ship. Balthier sighed again, fixing his cuffs and then walking after them with Fran in tow. On the deck of the ship, a number of aegyl and their Yarhi flew in the sky, their weapons drawn and ready for battle. Llyud walked up beside Lightning just as she unsheathed her gunblade.

"Why are they attacking?" he asked, resting a hand on his lance.

"Their anima have returned," Fran murmured, crossing her arms.

Balthier shrugged his shoulders, narrowing his eyes. "And here's the result."

"Base emotions are quick to surface," the viera added, and she glanced once in Lightning's direction. The ex-soldier scoffed, turning her attention toward the enemy aegyl.

"They probably don't realize what they're doing, then," Vaan said. "If they're acting off of their newly found anima, then they're not very happy with us."

"And the Eternal ones."

Vaan moved to summon Yarhi to aid them, but Balthier stopped him before he could. "Vaan," he stated. "Don't let yourself become a slave to the stone. Make certain that you're the one using it, not the other way around."

The blond blinked. "You know about the auraliths?"

"The highlights, at least."

Yarhi appeared around them, and there was one carbuncle that crawled over to Lightning. It was colored differently than the others that stood by Penelo; its fur was light pink, and the jewel on its forehead was pale blue. While the others started the fight, Lightning bent down and scratched behind the carbuncle's ear, barely smiling. "Serah?" she asked, the Yarhi closed its eyes and nodded. "So you really are a Yarhi. I guess that means it's my job to free you."

She swung around in time to shoot an atomos Yarhi that had snuck up on them, and Balthier shot down another one before it could reach her and Serah's carbuncle. Llyud and Filo flew off ahead to deal with the aegyl, while the others stayed behind to guard the _Galbana_.

Not too long later, the aegyl flew off into the distance and left the ship. Lightning rested her gunblade on her shoulder when she turned around to face the others, and she jumped weakly when Balthier was suddenly standing right behind her. He took her hand and kissed it, silently asking for forgiveness. She only nodded to him, and watched in reluctance as Serah's carbuncle disappeared with the other Yarhi.

"The aegyl, this land," Fran said, once everyone returned to the deck. "All only pawns to the Occuria."

Balthier released Lightning's hand and shook his head. "Another fine legacy of Ivalice's 'gods'..." He pulled out a scroll from his vest and held it out toward everyone else.

_The Occuria, undying beings who named themselves gods, ruled over Ivalice and guided the fate of Man. Their brethren, the fal'Cie of Gran Pulse and Cocoon, took control of their own worlds and remained separate. Thousands of years past, in the age of gods, there arose in Ivalice a race of winged people who would be known as the aegyl. The Occuria sought to control and guide the aegyl as they had the other races of Ivalice. But the aegyl would not be ruled, and instead chose to flee into the skies. Or, so it was believed..._

_Facing the wrath of the gods they had so angered, the aegyl used the auraliths to erect a barrier that would forever seclude them. But a terrible madness lingered within the aegyl, a lust for revenge against the gods who had driven them from their birth place. And so the aegyl passed from the pages of Ivalice's history into her legends._

"Purvama," Fran finished, "the floating lands. Untrodden, unknown. There sleeps the Eternal."

"All this time another chapter of Ivalice's history lay waiting in the skies," Balthier explained, tucking the scroll back inside his vest. "Then we found the Cache of Glabados, a treasure with connection to the Eternal beings. The legend was obviously true, and the Cache was the key. Once again we'd managed to find ourselves a treasure worth its weight in troubles."

Penelo folded her arms across her chest. "But, the Cache is what brought Lightning here, isn't it? Without it, she wouldn't be here."

"A stone with many uses..."

"To give one eternal life and to bring back the dead, huh?" Lightning mused, sheathing her gunblade. "I don't like the sound of it, even if it has to do with eternity."

"Eternity is an illusion," Fran warned them. "But there is one person who believes in that illusion. The Judge of Wings."

Vaan stepped forward. "The Judge of Wings is a woman from Ivalice named Mydia, and she loved a man named Velis. But, Feolthanos - that god. He's using her, for some reason."

Shrugging, Balthier murmured, "Yes, Feolthanos...I'm beginning to rather mislike the gods, even if I used to be one."

_When there is life, there's always choice. Don't make the wrong one, Claire. You're going to have to learn that not everyone gets the chance to live forever._

Lightning closed her eyes, resting her head against Balthier's shoulder. "The gods be damned," she muttered. "I don't know who's worse - the Occuria and the fal'Cie for driving their people away, or this Feolthanos guy for stealing the souls of the aegyl all this time." She moved away from Balthier, looking toward the sky above them. "But, there's one thing I'm sure about. We're going to find that last auralith and destroy it, or Serah will never be free."

"Serah?" Vaan asked. "Isn't - I mean, wasn't she your sister?"

"Feolthanos is keeping her, and Velis, locked with the other Yarhi. Their souls can't rest until we stop him."

"Destroying the auralith," Llyud said, finally speaking, "will give Lemurés reason to hope again, as well."

"And once the barrier is down, we can come and visit whenever we like. And, maybe," Vaan suggested, grinning, "we can go to Lightning's world, too. But, we gotta find Mydia first. She can tell us where the last auralith is."

"One thing troubles me." Fran walked forward, standing beside Lightning. "Why did Mydia first come to Lemurés? She could not have known of the Cache, not when we used it once before to travel to the other realm." She looked toward Lightning and Balthier. "Not since time has started once again here in Ivalice."

There was a long pause of silence, until Tomaj and Nono came walking onto the _Galbana's_ deck. It was then that Lightning heard the whirring of air ships approaching them.

"Sorry to interrupt, but there's been a development you may be interested in." Tomaj pointed toward the sky, where the shadows of air ships was visible. "A fleet of air ships is approaching from Ivalice!"

Nono jumped up and down, waving his arms. "And Queen Ashe's flagship is with them, kupo!"

Lightning, even if it wasn't beating, felt her heart stop in dread. There was still one person she had yet to see since arriving in Ivalice, the one person she was trying to avoid.

The self-acclaimed hero himself.

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_Dun dun dunnnnnn! :D_


	5. The Queen and Her Hero

**Author's Note:** _I revived my obsession with Snow and Ashe by writing this chapter. God, those two. They're the perfect representation for the stereotypical 'hero and queen' characters. Well, Ashe is sometimes more manly than Snow...lol? Nonetheless, those two are so...Gah. I dunno. They're perfect for each other?_

_For some reason...the song "_Old Stone_" by Laura Marling totally reminds me of the relationship Balthier and Lightning have in this series. I dunno. I listen to it a lot while writing scenes between them. :)_

_Anywhoo, I spent more time on this than on my homework, just for you guys, __**HopelessRomanticist**__,__** Joshua Chung**__ and __**The Giant Daifuku**__!_

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**R** e v e n a n t

Chapter Five

The Queen and Her Hero

_You've killed gods, saved two worlds, and yet you're nervous to see Snow again? Claire, sometimes you make me wonder..._

Lightning was anxiously fiddling with her necklace as Vaan led the group onto the _Leviathan_, looking all around for some place she could just sit and hide from what was to come. Balthier kept a gentle hold on her arm, knowing exactly what she would try to do if he let her out of his sight for just one moment. At least being at his side, once more, was comforting.

They walked into the bridge, and at that point Fran allowed the ex-soldier to hide behind her, understanding what she was feeling. Vaan and Penelo waved at the three standing by the main controls of the ship, while Balthier muttered under his breath; something on the lines of how no one else had aged a day since he'd last seen them. Lightning kept her mouth shut, remembering how much Balthier hated being reminded that he, due to how many time reset itself over the years, seemed to still be aging differently than everyone else.

The tallest of the three turned around, and immediately Snow grinned widely once he saw Balthier standing at the front of the group. "Balthier! Fran!" he exclaimed. "About time you showed up!" He nearly charged at them, pulling Balthier into a back-breaking hug as soon as he was up close. The sky pirate cursed loudly, attempting to escape from the 'death hug' (as Vaan called it once before).

Balthier dusted off the front of his vest when Snow finally put him back down on the floor. "It's been only a few weeks since we last saw you, Ice," he growled. "But, good to see you're well. Nice sword, by the way."

Snow looked down at the sword on his belt, under his signature trench coat. "This? I call it 'Ragnarok'," he said, unsheathing it and smirking. "Thought you'd like the name, you know?"

"Can't say it brings up the most happy of memories, but I'm flattered nonetheless."

Making the mistake of peering around Fran's shoulders, Lightning met Snow's eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. He squinted his eyes, obviously not believing what he was seeing, and took a step forward. "Sis, is that you?" he asked. "What...What are you doing here in Ivalice?"

She forced herself to resist hitting him, clenching her fist when she took a step forward. "Try to hug me," she stated, scowling, "and I won't hesitate to hurt you. I'll...try to explain everything later."

The other two walked toward them. The man, who Lightning guessed was Basch, wore armor much like the Judge of Wings, but he seemed to much more gentler than she. The scar across his left eyebrow may have looked menacing, but from what both Balthier and Vaan had told her, Basch was all heart. He smiled weakly and nodded to them.

The woman, on the other hand, was nothing like she expected a queen to be. Ashe wore armor that was almost as revealing as what Lightning had on, and the determined look in her gray eyes seemed to be silently threatening those around her. Needless to say, she was still beautiful. But, Lightning wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

"I wish there were time for a more proper reunion," Ashe said to them, tilting her head downward. "But time is one thing we do not have."

"Sky pirates have been wreaking havoc throughout Ivalice," Basch explained. "They fight using beasts unlike any we've seen. The sky pirates use some sort of magick stone to summon them."

Vaan rested a hand on his chin, thinking. "That's auracite, it has to be. You can use it to summon Yarhi - they're like espers, and...whatever you call them in your world, Lightning."

The queen nodded. "We've heard of these Yarhi and Lemurés from the sky pirates we've managed to capture. We cannot allow stones of such power to fall into just any hands. It could mean another war...or worse."

"You have some experience handling these Yarhi, right?" Basch turned toward Vaan and Penelo, and the two remained silent. "The Empire is studying them, but we want your help until the situation is brought under control."

Filo and Kytes happily agreed without asking permission from their captain, but Vaan seemed just as enthusiastic. "You got it, Ashe! We'll do whatever we can!"

While Penelo started to scold him for not respecting the queen of their home, Ashe turned toward Snow and Lightning when the former touched her shoulder. Lightning pretended not to notice the tenderness and affection when he rested his hand on her skin. "Ashe, Basch," he said. "This is Lightning. Serah's older sister, and Balthier's..."

"Leading lady," she finished, barely bowing her head.

Ashe tilted her head to the side, studying the ex-soldier for a moment. "It's an honor, then," she finally answered. "Snow has been kind enough to tell me of your accomplishments, and Balthier has...told me much about you, in general."

"I didn't think I was worth the time of a queen."

"You'd be surprised." She looked toward the sky pirate standing behind Lightning, eyebrows raised. "Is it as Snow has told me? Ragnarok is gone, for good?"

"I wouldn't be here if it weren't," Balthier told her, shrugging once. "Then again, I can't say I miss having a mad god in my head all this time, trying to steal my dear Light from me."

Basch, suddenly, rolled his eyes. "Do I dare ask?"

"Tis a long story, actually."

Waving his arms, Vaan stood between them and exclaimed, "I want to know! Tell us, Balthier! You can't keep secrets from us for too much longer, you know."

"I think you've asked enough questions, Vaan," Penelo said, touching his arm to calm him down. "Maybe we all need some time off before we head back to Ivalice. I was hoping we could find out more about Mydia and the Cache."

Snow, confidently folding his arms across his chest, grinned. "We're definitely going to find out more 'bout this Judge, with the help of an old friend," he said to them. Everyone looked at him, confused, but Lightning rested a hand on her hip, her upper lip curling gently.

"An 'old friend'?" she asked.

"The last time we heard something of the like, we met with a promiscuous prince from Rozarria," Balthier mused, frowning. "I'd rather not deal with surprises like him, thank you."

Filo pouted, pushing his shoulder as much as she could. Granted, her small arms didn't do much in an attempt to knock him over. "Oh, cheer up, Balthier!" she whined. "Don't be so glum, okay?"

He only stared at her before turning in the other direction and walking away. Lightning caught Snow's amused expression before following the sky pirate back to the _Galbana_.

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Having Snow, Ashe and Basch on the ship changed the way mostly everyone behaved. Tomaj was convinced that they would be buying supplies non-stop from his shop, until Vaan deliberately told him that they were only there for business reasons. Lightning felt some-what sorry for him, and ended up buying a new set of bullets for her gunblade.

Kytes and Filo seemed over-joyed to have Snow there. He would always tell them what it was like to work at the palace, how he had more authority over the people of Rabanastre by being the queen's _favorite_ knight. Balthier, every time he heard the taller man talking, was prompted to slap him upside the head for 'being too forward about his relationship with Ashe'. At least it was amusing to see Snow sulk for an hour or two afterward, until Ashe spoke with him and cheered him up.

Of course, Lightning avoided having a conversation with him wherever she was in the same room as him. Each time she would find some excuse to go off with Vaan and Penelo, or claim that Fran and Nono needed her help with repairing the _Strahl_. It had only been a few days since joining up with the others that Snow finally pulled her and Balthier away from the group to talk.

He led them onto the bridge of the _Galbana_, where, for once, no one else was up there. "I didn't want to ask this in front of everyone else, since I don't know if they actually, you know, understand sis' issue," Snow said, turning toward Lightning. "You're still an undead, aren't you?"

She nodded. "What of it?"

"I've heard a certain someone here has been looking for a way to make himself immortal, too." He made a point of glancing in the sky pirate's direction. "Isn't that right?"

"Why would I want to be immortal?" Balthier asked. "Ice, you seem to misunderstand my methods. My search for the auracite and the Judge of Wings is not due to my drive to live forever."

"To make her human again. Is that it, then?"

"Ah, it would seem I have been found out." He sighed, barely slouching. "Is it so wrong to venture around a new world to find a cure for the undead?"

Lightning glared at him. "You could have gotten yourself killed by that Judge," she spat.

"I'm going to die sooner or later. And when that happens, you won't have any reason to stay in Ivalice."

"Don't be so self-centered, Balthier. Maybe I came here to see Snow. Ever think of that?"

Snow held his hands up defensively, taking one step back from the pair. "Hey, don't drag me into this!"

"Come now, we both know that I'm the reason why you followed us here." Balthier was smirking again. "There's no need to be in denial about your feelings, Light. My leading lady musn't be so shy."

"You always told me that the leading man can't die." She clenched her fists, struggling to stay calm. "So go find your stone of immortality and make sure that all those stories stay true. I'm not ready to let you die."

He arched an eyebrow, and rested a hand against the wall. "So you _do_ want me to live forever with you."

Turning around and scowling, Lightning rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant," she replied. "I just don't like men who lie to me. When we first met, I thought you were better than all this. You never would have betrayed us like that, not when the whole world was out to get us. Just because we were l'Cie, and you were the outsider. So-" She stopped, and everything went silent. Balthier was staring at her, she knew, and it was all because of that Freudian Slip. Lightning looked back at him, and both he and Snow seemed speechless.

"All this time," Balthier murmured, quietly, "You've known of what happened? You've remembered all of it?"

"I thought it was obvious. Why else do you think I ran after _you_, and not that damn god Ragnarok?" She pushed past them, storming up the stairs and leaving them behind. She could feel the tears trying to fall from her eyes, but all she could do was run.

_Claire...Don't do this. Don't shut him out._

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It wasn't hard to find the right place to hide from Balthier. The _Galbana_ had stopped near the Ymir Quil mountains again, and while everyone else was getting ready to leave for another mission Tomaj had set up for them, Lightning slipped away and went to the _Strahl_. Nono ended up following her, which she didn't mind as long as he didn't mention the sky pirate to her.

She stood in the hall way, running her hand along the wall when she walked down to the cock pit, and sighed when she watched the _Galbana_ soar off into the skies. "Maybe I could just take this ship and leave," she murmured. "Wouldn't that be something? I'm sure he'd be mad, though that's not new."

Nono climbed into the co-pilot's chair, dusting off the controls with a handkerchief. When Lightning leaned against the back of the seat, she found herself almost wishing she hadn't run away. She was supposed to be glad that Balthier cared about her, that he was willing to risk his own life to save her. All he wanted was to fix the damage he'd done, and she didn't want him to. What if he was to die while searching for the key to the Eternal? What would she do then; go back to Pulse, as he suggested?

"I did not think you the type to run away."

Lightning spun around, her hands raised in defense, but the moment she saw the queen of Dalmasca smiling at her, she stopped in place. "Your Majesty, I-"

"Call me Ashe," she said, calmly walking to the other side of the cock pit. "I've told so many that, and only Vaan still calls me by that name." When the other woman didn't say anything, she continued, "Imagine my surprise when I saw you running off the ship the moment we landed. I thought to ask Balthier if there was something wrong, yet I knew that this was a matter I needed to deal with on my own. Woman to woman, as they say."

"I didn't think Snow and Basch would let you leave on your own."

She chuckled faintly. "Yes, you're right. That is why I, like you had, snuck off the ship before they left. I wanted to speak with you, privately. I've heard so much about the brave, determined soldier from Cocoon from both Snow and Balthier, but I wished to know more about you from yourself. To know who you really are."

"I'm not who I used to be. The old me wouldn't have left Balthier like that. I wouldn't have lied to him before. This new..._undead_ version of me refuses to let him help."

"We all have our reasons for not always telling the truth. I'm sure that you wanted to make things easier for when the time came for him to leave this world, yes?"

The ex-soldier shrugged her shoulders, leaning into the palm of her hand. "Maybe I'm afraid to let him go, or maybe I just don't want to be forced to watch him die, whenever that time will be."

"Which is why you wish for him to become an Eternal, like you."

"I'd prefer him to do that, but...I don't want to force him into a life that he doesn't want."

Ashe leaned her back against the wall, watching Lightning carefully. "When I met Balthier, he was not who I thought he was," she said. "A man trapped between the desire to do as Ragnarok bid of him, and the wish to leave it all behind and return to the woman he cared for. That necklace you wear, now...I never saw Balthier without it."

"Snow said it helped him control that monster. So why else-"

"It was the last thing he held that reminded him of you. Balthier told me, before we traveled to his home in Archadia, that he would give anything to find you. To be with you before it all ended for him."

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_While Basch and Fran stood beneath the shade of the trees, and Snow followed Vaan and Penelo into the water of the Phon Coast, Ashe walked toward the sand's end. Her foot caught on a rock, and she nearly tripped until someone caught her hand. Expecting Snow to be standing there, she looked up with a small, gentle smile, only to be surprised when Balthier was the one holding her hand. She stood up straight, walking away from him without even thanking him._

_"_You're not the first woman I've helped like that,_" he stated, following her. "_She didn't thank me, either, of course. Always stubborn, she was. You two are very much alike._"_

_She stopped, casting her eyes toward the cliffs in the distance. "_Is this some tactic to charm me?_" she asked, her upper lip curling in disgust. "_You have no right-_"_

_"_It's a compliment, princess._" Balthier sauntered past her, glancing once toward the three in the water. "_I wouldn't dare court you when there's a hero willing to risk his life for you. Getting between such devotion is not on my list of things to do before I die._"_

_"_And what is? To claim the treasures of my palace? To call the skies of Ivalice your own?_"_

_"_What good are things that have no true value? Ivalice's skies belong to me already, and as for your treasure...Not even gold can match what I truly seek._" He paused, looking down at the shallow water beneath his feet. "_How much has Snow told you of our time in the other world together?_"_

_Ashe walked up behind him, touching the ring around her finger. "_He chooses to keep most of it a secret_," she answered._ _"_But, he mentioned one thing to me. That necklace you wear - it belongs to someone you met there, doesn't it?_"_

_"_I was lost in a world not my own, convinced that there was no hope left for me. But she, the owner of this necklace, made me realize that there is more than just living. Our time together was short - we were separated by Ragnarok, the god you seek. And now, it seems I will never see her again._"_

_"_But if Snow finds a way to return to his home, won't you go along, as well?_"_

_"_Not with the way I am now. If I manage to live through this, I will find out how to return to her. As the leading man, I can't allow her to wait forever. Wouldn't be polite of me to do so. But for now, we all must learn to cast aside our pasts and continued on with what must be done._"_

_She gazed up at him, surprised to see that he was smiling, for once_. _"_I pray you're right, Balthier._"_

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"I didn't understand it then," Ashe finished, "but I now I see the truth. Even though he knew that, eventually, he would no longer have the chance to be with you, Balthier still wanted to see you, at least once more before Ragnarok claimed him."

Lightning opened her eyes, standing up straight. "It always comes back to Ragnarok, doesn't it?" she wondered. "It was there the entire time I knew Balthier back on Cocoon. How do I know if these...feelings, or whatever they are, are really from Ragnarok and not Balthier?"

"You will find out, one of these days. Wouldn't you rather stay with him while you still can?"

All of the sudden, the _Galbana_, nearly crashing into the mountain, flew down from above and landed just outside the _Strahl_. The two women looked at each other, eyes meeting, and smiled.

After listening to Snow apologize to Ashe over and over for allowing Vaan to leave without her, Lightning went to the deck of the ship and stood at the edge, watching the clouds pass by underneath her. She fiddled with the lightning-bolt charm, and she didn't turn around when she heard the familiar foot steps walking up behind her.

"A little drafty, don't you think?" Balthier asked. "You're like to be carried off."

Lightning kept her eyes forward. "Thought I'd try to see if I can feel the wind on my face anymore."

"And, can you?" She shook her head, letting her hand fall to her side. Balthier sighed, "How long are we not going to talk with one another? Surely you understand my means for going after the auraliths."

"If you were to bring me back to life, don't you think these injuries, these scars left behind, would kill me? What if, let's say, I was killed by someone the moment I came back? What would you do? Etro isn't here to save me again." She sighed, barely frowning. "I'm afraid of what's going to happen in the years to come. I can't die, but you can. I'm not ready to let you go so soon."

Balthier remained silent.

"When you're gone, I'll be left to walk the world alone. Why can't you use the auralith, magicite, or whatever it is to make you immortal, too?"

"To live forever," he murmured. "The dream of every sky pirate, isn't it? That's not the life I desire. And it's not the life I wanted for you, either."

"I would have done the same for you."

"And would you rather have me live forever, with you?"

She turned around, facing him. "That's why I'm here, isn't it? Balthier, just this once. Do something right for the both of us."

Lightning brushed past him, walking toward the stairs, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her close. Their lips met, surprising her, but for a moment she could feel his warmth upon her. She closed her eyes, and when they parted she leaned into him, wrapping her arms around him. Balthier rested his head against hers, and just once it seemed that everything would end the way they wanted.

_If only._

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_:o_


	6. Ragnarok

**Author's Note:** _Soooo...I've recently come to accept the Balthier/Fang pairing. I feel a spin-off story in the works...And, yes, the first scene in this chapter happens after what it implies. ;D I'm experimenting some *ahem* new things in my writing. I've come to realize that implying things is better than saying them straight-forwardly._

_And just so no one is confused, when Serah's name is mentioned in a battle, she's in her Yarhi form. Even I was confused when writing this...Yes, the chapter title doesn't make sense either. Ragnarok? Whaaaaat? ;P_

_My thanks goes to __**The Giant Daifuku**__ and __**HopelessRomanticist**__ for reviewing chapter five! :D Here's a nice, long chapter for you guys._

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**R** e v e n a n t

Chapter Six

Ragnarok

Rain fell against the front window of the _Galbana_, and even though she was below the sky saloon in one of the bedrooms, Lightning had no trouble hearing the constants pattering against the glass. Turning the hot water on, she leaned against the tiled wall behind her and let the steam engulf her. Outside the shower, Balthier was sound asleep in their bed, too tired to stay awake with her any longer. She didn't mind the silence of their room, as she had already become accustomed to it.

She found herself wondering why the steam didn't have an effect on her. The warmth seemed to go down with water, but she wasn't too sure. She'd almost forgotten what it was like to even _feel_ it.

Earlier that day, she had accompanied Basch, Snow, Ashe and Vaan to the Dalmascan Westersand, and met up with their 'unlikely ally', the young emperor of Archades, Larsa Solidor. Balthier remained on the _Galbana_, with Fran, though he claimed that he only stayed behind to 'catch up on his sleep'. Lightning knew that there was still something he wasn't telling her, but it was up to him to decide whether he would eventually admit to it.

Surprisingly, Llyud began talking with her more and more, curious about the world she once lived in. There was something different about him, like he had learned to express his emotions just by spending time with Vaan and the others orphans. He must have gotten his anima back, she had realized. There was nothing else that could truly explain it. In turn, he told her about his world and the god Feolthanos. She was still trying to understand who the man was, but if he was just like her, as Serah had said, then she would have to find out - sooner or later.

Lightning wrapped a towel around herself when she turned off the water, stepping out of the steam and into the bathroom. She passed by the mirror, yet she took a step back when she saw the reflection of herself. The scar on her chest, from the bullet that had killed her the year before, was still visible despite how many times she tried to hide it. It stuck out from the rest of the scars on her body, blood still caked on the wound.

She barely lifted a finger to touch it, and she turned her eyes to the side, where she could hear Balthier's slow breath behind the door. When she stood over his sleeping form, watching the slow rise and fall of his chest, she wondered how long it would be until his breath would cease to exist. Whenever she laid by him at night, the sound and gentle warmth of his breath lulled her into what she wanted to believe was a state of rest. But, she couldn't sleep. Not when she had to watch over him.

Balthier's eyes fluttered open, and for a while the two of them simply gazed upon one another. Lightning sat down beside him, her eyes moving toward the door in case someone walked in. She only glanced toward him once, looking at the multiple scars on his bare chest. Just like he was unaffected by time restarting over and over again, the wounds that had killed him more than once remained. She tried not to stare, knowing all too well that he hated that.

"I was wondering when you would come back," Balthier murmured, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "The steam was even coming in here. I'm surprised you didn't burn your skin."

"Couldn't feel it if I did," she answered. "I'll heal myself eventually, with or without magick."

His mouth pinched into tight frown. "You can't rely on that forever, you know. One of these days, you might not be able to heal yourself, Light. I'm not too sure that I want to be the one to put you back together when that time comes."

"That's only if you live long enough."

"Yes, that would be a problem as well, I suppose." He stretched out his arms, sitting up under the blankets, and eyed Lightning's stiff posture barely loosen up. "There isn't anything bothering you, now, is there?"

"I just need to find some answers. Answers to questions I don't even understand."

"More of that 'Eternal' madness?"

Lightning nodded. "It's something I need to find out on my own. I can't risk losing you just because of another god. Once this is all over, maybe I can finally go on without letting someone else I care about get trapped by Feolthanos."

"You're going to drive yourself mad by chasing after false gods, Light."

"What else can I do, then? What else is there?"

Balthier massaged his temple, sighing heavily. Lightning stood up from the bed and went toward the doorway, picking up the blouse he had tossed aside earlier that night. She pulled it on, buttoning it up when she let the towel fall from her body and onto the floor. She looked down at her carelessly thrown clothes at her feet, almost smiling when she turned back in Balthier's direction. He was smirking, of course. It must have amused him that she was wearing his some of his clothes.

"Now if one of the children were to walk in right now," he said, "don't you think they would get the wrong idea?"

"Isn't that idea true?" Lightning asked, sauntering toward the bed.

"Well, yes, but-"

She pressed a icy finger to his lips, silencing him. "Balthier, sometimes it's better not to say anything at all."

When she lowered her hand from his face, Balthier held it in his own, leading her back down to the bed.

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Days had passed since Larsa joined their company, and Vaan managed to occupy the time of the younger members of his crew with the missions Tomaj set up for them. Occasionally Lightning would go with them, curious about both Ivalice and Lemurés, and sometimes even Balthier would go along. Whatever time they could spend together, it was guaranteed that they wouldn't dare waste any of it.

It seemed as if they had grown closer since traveling with the group. They were rarely apart, apart from the few missions Balthier had no interest in, and even then she would manage to find some way to know that he was safe. Fran was beginning to warm up to Lightning, for the viera actually spoke to her without being told to by one of the others; specifically, Balthier or Snow.

Things were going well for a while, until Balthier ended up getting terribly sick after trying Penelo's cooking for the first time. Not only did he get sick, but he ended up vomiting on Basch's lap the moment he tried to make a run for the nearest trash bin. After apologizing repeatedly the to Judge Magister, Lightning took up the task of watching over Balthier and making sure he didn't choke on his own bile. No one else had problems with the food, however. Lightning reminded herself about how weak of a stomach the sky pirate had, remembering the time in Palumpolum.

Snow, of course, found the whole situation to be hilarious. A slap from both Lightning and Ashe made him stop laughing for a while.

The day after, Lightning saw Tomaj and Vaan putting up a new mission on the notice board in the bridge of the ship. She didn't mean to eavesdrop, but the smallest of smiles formed on her face when she listened to the two of them.

"'Otherworldly beauty'?" Vaan asked, peering over Tomaj's shoulder to look at the latest post. "Where have I heard that before, I wonder..."

Tomaj scoffed. "I don't know what you're talking about, Vaan."

"Oh, I think you do. Isn't that what you called Lightning when she came here?"

Lightning walked over to them, pulling the paper from the board and reading it. Another esper on the loose in Lemurés, it seemed. "If the mission is named after me," she murmured, raising an eyebrow, "then I guess I have no choice but to go after this esper. Do you know which one it is?"

"The sky pirates I talked to didn't say much, just that the esper was causing a ruckus beneath the auralith's temple," Tomaj explained once he recovered from embarrassment. "You're gonna go alone?"

Before she even had the chance to answer, Balthier staggered up the stairs and glared at Tomaj. His face was pale, and he looked as if he shouldn't have been walking around. In fact, that was what Fran had pointedly told him the night before. Lightning sighed, slightly annoyed, and briskly walked over to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"Balthier, what did Fran and I tell you?" she asked, rolling her eyes. "You're not well enough to be walking around."

"There is no chance," he snapped, "that I'm letting you go on some tedious mission _alone_. We can't risk-" He stopped, covering his mouth to suppress the urge to retch. Lightning forced a short laugh.

"Come on, let's get you back to bed."

However, Penelo made the mistake of walking past them, heading over to see Vaan, and was faced with the sky pirate's wrath. "_You_," he growled. "This is your fault, Penny. Because of you _damn_ terrible cooking, I can't stand to even _think_ of doing much but wallow in my self pity!"

She stared at him, frightened, and took a step back. "I didn't mean-"

"You and Vaan will be going with Light to fight the rogue esper. That's _final_."

"But-" Vaan started to say, but Lightning raised a hand to silence him.

"Just do as he says, Vaan," she interrupted, "before he gets sick on someone again. I don't want to have to clean up the mess."

**

* * *

**

The _Galbana_ landed outside the Dais of Auracite, and Lightning waved once to Snow when she saw him standing in the bridge, grinning at the three who were walking to the temple. He had promised to take care of Balthier while she was away, even though Fran wouldn't dare leave her partner's side. But, knowing Snow and his promises, there wasn't any chance of changing his mind. Lightning liked it better that way.

Vaan was muttering under his breath as he and Penelo walked side-by-side down the worn steps. Lightning wasn't too far behind them, looking around the ruined area and the dim crystals glowing along the wall. Since auracite was such a common thing in Lemurés, she wouldn't have any trouble finding a way to return to her home. And maybe, just maybe, she would have Balthier convinced by then to become an Eternal.

They reached the main part of the ruins, and the moment they stepped into the center, Yarhi appeared out of nowhere and charged at the three. Lightning pulled out her gunblade immediately, running forward, but there was a sudden bright light before her. She stopped in her place once she saw the esper gracefully floating down from the light, her eyes beginning to widen.

"It's beautiful," Penelo murmured.

Vaan frowned, squinting to see closer. "Is that...Ultima?" he asked.

Ultima. Lightning would have recognized that name anywhere. Ultima had been Balthier's 'Eidolon', summoned when he learned of his death in Ivalice. Yet, why would she be in Lemurés? Had Balthier somehow lost the ability to summon her?

And then she realized why she suddenly felt on edge.

Penelo gasped, her shoes clicking against the brick as she ran down the stairs. "Lightning!" she cried. "Get out of there!"

Quick to come to her defense, Vaan jumped down from the ledge and landed on his feet in front of the ex-soldier. He raised a hand, his half of the Cache in hand, and called Yarhi into battle. The pale pink carbuncle appeared within the light, calmly prancing over to Lightning and staring up at her. The other Yarhi joined up with Vaan and Penelo, already dealing with the 'minions' of Ultima.

"Serah?" Lightning asked, and the carbuncle nodded as it had before.

Ultima turned her eyes toward the ex-soldier, raising her hands above her head. There was an abrupt burst of light around them all, and the next thing she knew, Lightning was surrounded by a ruby colored light. Serah's ears flattened when the shield fell, and Ultima cried out in anguish. Vaan threw his sword at the Seraph, though she deflected it as if it was nothing more than a wooden stick.

"What's Ultima doing here?" he asked, gritting his teeth. "I thought Balthier had her under control!"

"I thought so, too," Lightning answered, shooting down an enemy Yarhi. "He's going to have a lot of explaining to do when we get done here!"

The Seraph unleashed another light beam, and Lightning barely ducked down in time. Serah mewled when Vaan received the blunt of the blow, prancing over to heal him. The green auracite had fallen from his grasp, landing a short distance away from him. Lightning, acting out of curiosity and desperation, stumbled toward the stone and picked it up, a black light erupting from it the moment it touched her hands. The clanking of hooves filled her ears, and she looked up in time to meet the eyes of a knight riding an armored horse.

"Odin!" she exclaimed, and he held out his hand to her. She took it, climbing onto the horse and sitting down behind the man. He pulled out his long sword, and the horse charged at Ultima. Lightning closed her eyes when she heard the Seraph cry out when the blade sliced through her, holding on tightly to Odin. She could feel the magick pulsing around her, and all she wanted to do was hide somewhere safe - somewhere away from danger.

The enemy Yarhi began to dissipate into the musty air, and when Ultima withered away, everything was silent. Odin assisted Lightning to the ground, bowing once to her before fading. Serah followed him, flicking her tail before disappearing. Vaan, rubbing the back of his neck, picked up his diamond sword and groaned.

"That's the last time I ever go on a mission like this."

Penelo walked over to them, her fingers running over the brand faintly glowing on her arm. "Ultima may look friendly at first," she said, "but she does get scary when she's angry."

"Kinda like Lightning," Vaan added, smirking almost Balthier-like, though it switched to a frown when Lightning glared at him. "I'm kidding! Sheesh. Anyway, I didn't know you knew how to summon Yarhi, Lightning."

"That's the thing: I don't." She turned her anxious eyes toward the spot where Odin and Serah once were. "Back in my world, Odin was my Eidolon. Maybe the one here is the same creature. Only...He felt so _human_."

The dancer twirled the end of one of her braids around her finger. "We didn't tell you about what happened after Balthier destroyed the auralith, did we? We were sent to this dream world, and we found Velis, the soldier from Dalmasca, again. The Yarhi you just summoned - that's him. Velis _is_ Odin."

"Just like how Serah's a Yarhi, too," Vaan agreed. "I forgot to thank her for healing me..."

Lightning wrapped her arms around herself, attempting to warm herself up. "And they're trapped in those forms all because of that aegyl god...We'll just have to save them, won't we. They're helping us, so we have to help them."

"Then that's exactly what we'll do."

**

* * *

**

Balthier didn't seem to be phased at the news of his esper being controlled by another. In fact, he didn't even care. Lightning asked him why he had lost control over Ultima, and all he said was that no god can be tamed forever. She kept her mouth shut after that, and watched him sleep the rest of the night.

First thing in the morning, Vaan piloted the _Galbana_ to the Paramina Rift in Ivalice, where the Judge of Wings had been sighted. Ashe and Snow remained on the ship, as did Basch and Larsa, so Lightning only had to worry about protecting a few people. Balthier had recovered from his food poisoning incident (as he called it), and assured her that he wouldn't cause any more trouble, lest she asked him to. Fran, though her expression was still, was amused by his slight embarrassment. Her eyes were laughing.

Lightning followed Filo and Kytes out into the snow, watching over them while Vaan and Penelo were further ahead. The young mage hunkered down, stuffing his hands into his long sleeves, and his teeth began to chatter.

"It's c-c-cold," he stammered, and Filo only rolled her eyes at him. Lightning stared at him briefly, sighing, and she removed her red cape from her shoulder and wrapped it around him. She then followed Balthier and Fran up the hill, her feet trudging through the snow and ice. Kytes watched her leave, scampering after them when he shook his head.

Penelo was staring up at some sort of memorial embedded within the cliffs when the others caught up to her and Vaan. She was holding her hands close to her chest, almost like she was praying, though the sight before her saddened her eyes. "This is a memorial for those who died at Nalbina," she explained, looking to the rest of the group. "I guess they chose this spot because it's so close to Bur-Omisace."

"What would Mydia want with this?" Vaan asked, stepping up beside her. He looked at all the names listed, rubbing one finger against his chin. "Aha! There we go. Velis' name is right here!"

"So the Judge of Wings was visiting Velis' grave?" Filo asked, confused. "I guess she has a soft side, too."

"Strip away the armor, and there is still a woman underneath. A woman wishing to be with her loved one for eternity," Fran quietly stated, ignoring the wind blowing against her tall ears. Beside her, Balthier was shivering and huddling up close to his partner, trying to steal her warmth. Lightning shrugged her shoulders, wondering if she should have saved her cape for him.

"Maybe she came here hoping to find part of herself," the ex-soldier mumbled. "Trapped by her own past."

Vaan's lip curled in irritation. "Then this is all one big stroll down memory lane for her?" he asked. "I didn't think she was so sentimental."

"_I left my anima in Lemures._"

Everyone turned around, the clashing of metal steps unnerving them all. The Judge of Wings approached them, the familiar dark glow engulfing her as she walked, and Lightning took a determined step forward. Llyud carefully watched her, glancing between her, Balthier, and the Judge.

"Light," the sky pirate hastily said, reaching for her hand, but she shook her head.

"It's okay," she reassured him, unsheathing her gunblade. "She can't hurt me."

She faced her enemy, and the Judge of Wings held a part of the Cache into the air. A pink light enveloped Lightning, sending her to her knees. There was no pain, yet she was still bound to the spot. Unable to defend the others.

"_You are an Eternal. Blessed, yet damned to walk this land until Time's end._"

Lightning struggled to tilt her head upward, to look the Judge in the eyes. "You call me damned? Then why do you walk around here, asking people to become Eternal and join you?"

"_Your every false breath betrays those who would die for you._" The Judge waved her hand, gesturing to those standing near the memorial. "_Is it not the Divine's vessel who you should watch as he takes his last?_"

The Cache began to glow in her metal hands, and a thick, murky red began to form and melt the snow at their feet. Clawed hands scratched at the stone as the beast pulled itself out of the sludge, and its red eyes beheld the woman on her knees in front of it. Lightning couldn't move, even though the magick binding her had long faded.

"Ragnarok," she whispered, its name rolling from her tongue with ease. Familiarity. Longing? "But - I saw you _die_..."

Behind her, Balthier let out a strangled gasp, stumbling against the stone wall and clutching at the scars beneath his vest. Lightning swerved around, terror claiming her senses as she watched Fran grab hold of him, keeping him from falling. Ragnarok called for her attention by clawing at the ice as it began to crawl, inching closer to her. Again, Balthier cried out, the presence of the false beast bringing forth a relapse of the disease that had once plagued him.

"Stop it!" Lightning ordered, facing the Judge and her beast again. "Just stop!"

Ragnarok lunged forward, knocking the wind out of her when her back slammed against the ice. Her gunblade slipped from her fingers, landing in the snow with a gentle thud. The beast's claws wrapped themselves around her neck, pinning her against the cold and holding her back. Her lips refused to work, to apologize for what had been done. '_I'm sorry_,' she wanted to say, '_I'm sorry for letting you die_.'

Looking into those piercing eyes, she remembered the pitiful look that was once there: on the _Palamecia_, Ragnarok slowly dying and becoming one with the Mist. It pained her to recall the guilt she felt. She never wanted to cause so much suffering. Not even to a mindless killer. Or, was it truly a monster?

Lightning stopped struggling and allowed her muscles to go numb. Ragnarok bore its teeth, its face nearly touching her own, and she could feel the hot breath upon her cheeks.

_I'm sorry. Ragnarok._

Her muscles jolted to wakefulness, and she forced her foot against Ragnarok's torso, flinging it off of her. She grabbed her gunblade and plunged it through the beast's heart, a cry escaping her lips when she felt the Mist recoil on her. Llyud flew past her, pushing Ragnarok into the iced-over cliffs. Vaan made the mistake of rushing to defend Lightning, running right into the false god's view.

"Vaan, look out!" Lightning gasped, grabbing the neck of his vest and pulling him back before Ragnarok could charge him. Kytes cast a flare spell to force it back again, while Fran fired a flurry of arrows in its direction. Yet it was Lightning who dealt the killing blow, and she had to shut her eyes when the false Ragnarok returned to the dark magick beneath them.

The Judge of Wings walked forward, and both Vaan and Llyud stepped in front of Lightning as if to defend her. Flakes of snow fell against Lightning's cheeks, though when they hit her skin, they almost resembled tears. She looked to Balthier, who, in a state of weakness had leaned against Fran, cast his gaze elsewhere.

"You can't take him away from me," she breathed heavily, pointing her gunblade toward the Judge. "You just _can't_."

"_The Eternal shall live, but the damned will die. Denial binds you to him, to his short life._"

"Then how?" She was pleading now. "How can I save him?"

"_You cannot._"

The Judge of Wings left in a flash of darkness, and Lightning pushed by the two boys in an attempt to follow. Llyud held her back, wrapping his arms around her torso, and whispered "sorry" only once. And she, the flakes still falling on her face, screamed as if she was the only one there.

**

* * *

**

Everyone was silent upon their return to the sky saloon of the ship, until Larsa asked what had happened. While Vaan and Penelo, the only ones willing to speak, told him and the other three of what took place in the Rift, Lightning sat down by the fountain, hugging her legs to her chest. Her hair fell in front of her eyes that were red and puffy from the strain of not being able to cry. Balthier silently sat down at her side, resting his hand upon her arm.

"That's impossible," Snow said in a low tone after the two finished their story. "I killed Ragnarok back on Pulse. There's no way it's still alive and living beneath Ivalice. We watched it die."

"A false Ragnarok," Fran interjected. "The true god is with the Mist now."

"False Ragnarok? Wait, that's the one that Fang and Vanille summoned to save Cocoon. Right, sis?"

Lightning refused to make eye contact with him.

"Going to the Paramina Rift wasn't worth anything," Vaan regretfully admitted. "All we found out was that we've got a lovestruck Judge on our hands."

"We can use that, then. If Mydia still cares about Velis, then there's still a part of her that's human," Penelo suggested. "We've still got that soldier in Giza Plains to meet up with, and we still have to search the Glabados Ruins for anything we might have missed."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Snow asked, grinning. "We've still got a world to save."

_Don't you see, Claire? Don't give up. Keep going, and you'll find what you're looking for._

**

* * *

**

_The next chapter or so will be more happy, I promise. I think recent events have influenced the drama in this story. That, and it's hard to write a happy-Lightning._

_Anywhoo. :) I'm tired, now._


	7. Question of Can or Can't

**Author's Note:** _The plot bunnies have infested my mind. Oy. I've got so many ideas right now, I have no idea what the crap is going on in my mind. Pretty sure I'm set to write a whole bunch more crossover stories, that's for sure...(And, just to clear things up, when I mention Snow's sword, I won't be capitalizing 'ragnarok', just to keep how I name weapons consistent.)  
_

_**Joshua Chung**__, __**The Giant Daifuku**__ and __**HopelessRomanticist**__, I wish I could give you all hugs. :D_

**

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**

**R** e v e n a n t

Chapter Seven

Question of Can or Can't

Normally she would have been more than happy to follow Vaan and Penelo around Ivalice, but Lightning chose to stay on the ship when they, Basch, Ashe and Snow went to the Giza Plains to meet with a soldier of Dalmasca. It was just another mission with a lead on the Judge of Wings, but the woman was the least of Lightning's concerns at the time. Eternity was something she had, yes, but she didn't have all the time to think on what she would do next. The lives of humes, as the Judge said, were short.

If she wasn't careful, she would lose track of time, and years would pass without her noticing until it would be too late. She couldn't let that happen.

Llyud had explained to her the differences between humes, the viera, and the aegyl. The aegyl had shorter life spans, even shorter than that of humes. Viera could live until it was their time to become part of the Wood - whatever the 'Wood' was. That meant Fran would probably live longer than Balthier, but Lightning would outlive them both. That is, if she didn't find a way to save him.

'_Then how? How can I save him?_'

'_You cannot_.'

If Balthier couldn't become an Eternal, then couldn't she become human again? Use the auraliths, or ask Feolthanos himself?

"You know how much I hate it when you're quiet," Balthier said, leaning against the door frame. Fran was standing behind him, expressionless as always. "Especially when you haven't said a word to me since we last met with that Judge."

Lightning glanced between the two of them. "I've got a lot on my mind," was the only excuse she could come up with. "It's easy to lose track of time when you have more than enough to use."

"And so avoiding me is the key to helping you 'use time'?"

"For now, I guess. At least until we confront the Judge of Wings again. Any news on the others? Did they find the guy they were looking for?"

Balthier didn't speak at first, studying Lightning's blank stare. "They've returned, with the man in hand. If you're done with contemplating our past, we'll go on ahead and see what he had to say. I have a feeling that you'll be pleased with whatever information he has."

**

* * *

**

"She said she was traveling to learn all she could about a lost sky continent," the man explained to Ashe and Basch, and Lightning stood between Snow and Larsa when she reached the _Galbana's_ bridge. "She was quite taken with the notion. Charming thing. Fair of skin, golden hair. Did I mention she was a viera?"

Basch exchanged a nervous glance with the Queen. "A fair skinned viera?"

The soldier nodded. "She had her ears tucked in her hat - they weren't all that long, you see. She could have easily passed for a hume."

"That doesn't sound like any viera I've heard of," Ashe replied.

"I even commented on how lovely her hair was. She turned as red as a Galbana lily. A cute one like that, you'd think her used to such compliments."

Vaan was pacing back and forth, his arms folded tightly across his chest. "Any idea where she might be?" he asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine. She ran off, and I've not seen her since."

"What about her name? Did she mention that at all?"

"Her name?" The man frowned, thinking deeply. "Now that you mention it, she did. What was it...? Ah, that's right! She said her name was Mydia."

"Did you say _Mydia_?"

When the soldier left the ship, the rest of them met outside in the Giza Plains. Lightning was sitting in the sand, leaning against Fran's shoulder and attempting to pay attention to what the others were saying. Balthier had other plans for her, of course. He picked up a chocobo feather from the ground and gently tickled Lightning's nose with it, smirking all the while. She glared at him, even though she couldn't feel the feather at all, and he grinned. "Grow up," she murmured, hiding her smile.

"Mydia is of a different tribe of viera," Fran explained when Vaan asked her what she knew. "They are often called the Exiled. The features the guard described can leave no doubt. Flaxen hair, fair skin, and short ears. And more long-lived than all other viera."

Ashe sighed, rubbing her temple slowly. "How could their existence pass without notice?"

"Their numbers were ever few. They were driven from the Wood long ago as monsters. Exiles. We thought them long dead."

"So the Judge of Wings, this Mydia," Snow stated, from where he was sitting in one of the decaying trees. He swung his legs, attempting to cure his sheer boredom. "Is she one of the last of her race?"

"With a keen interest in Lemurés," Balthier added. "The plot thickens."

It was just a small group that would be going to the Glabados Ruins, consisting of Lightning, Balthier, Snow and Penelo. The rest were off on separate missions, collecting foodstuffs for the dinner later that night. They took the _Strahl_, finally back in tip-top shape, from its place in Heaven's Vigil to Ivalice. Snow made a show of asking Balthier if he could pilot the ship, which prompted Balthier to get all defensive and claim that 'no one but Light could touch his most _prized_ possession'. Poor Penelo got the wrong idea, and had to excuse herself from the cock pit out of embarrassment.

Nevertheless, Lightning quietly agreed with him.

Balthier led the way into the Ruins, glancing all around as their foot steps echoed throughout the empty hall. He was constantly checking behind him, looking directly at Lightning, as if he was afraid something would happen to her. She was worried about the same thing, only that he would be the one taken away.

"What are we doing back here, exactly?" Snow asked, once Balthier stopped his pace.

"Counting the Stone Mydia has, there were three treasures in the Cache, yes?"

"Don't forget how we've used each of them at least one other time. To get to Pulse, to come back here, and then Light used a Stone to come here, too."

Penelo gracefully walked to a gathering of boulders at the end of the hall. "Then that must mean there's a room we haven't been to." She started to climb over the rocks, Snow helping her stay steady, and looked over the top. "Over there! Look at this!"

Lightning allowed Balthier to help her crawl over the rocks, ignoring the smirk he was giving her, and then jumped into Snow's arms when she reached the highest point. Balthier landed calmly on his feet behind her, fixing the cuffs of his sleeves.

"I'm like to keep you with me on these treasure hunting visits, Penny," he said, using an endearing nickname for her. Lightning never understood why, though she wondered if Balthier saw Penelo as Vanille at times. The two were close the moment they'd met, and her 'death', as Snow explained once, still effected him to that day. "I wouldn't have spotted this hall on my own."

"You're welcome, then," she replied, winking before walking up a line of stairs.

At the end of the steps stood a fierce dragon, covered with thorns, toxic flowers, and molding mushrooms. Lightning pinched her nose when she caught a whiff of the foul stench, even though she could have just stopped her habit of breathing all together. Snow let out a groan when he walked up beside her.

"This thing again? How many times do we have to kill it?" he asked, turning to Balthier.

"In my lifetime, this will be the fourth time."

"The fourth?" Penelo questioned, pulling out her staff of healing.

"Once when I first met Fran, twice when traveling with your lot, and now this." He sighed, resting the fomalhaut on his shoulder. "I tire of these games..."

Snow snorted. "Balthier, how old _are_ you?"

There was a long pause, and everything was silent apart from the Elder Wyrm's snarls above them. Balthier closed his eyes, and Lightning knew that his age was a subject he wanted to avoid. "I'm twenty-six," he admitted through clenched teeth, once Penelo was out of listening range. "Whenever time begins again in this world, I continue to age at a normal rate, unlike the rest of you. You didn't have a mad god messing with you for nearly four years, Ice, so don't even think about mocking me."

The conversation ended there, though Lightning made a mental note to mention his age the next time Balthier frustrated her.

Without Vaan, they couldn't summon Yarhi into battle, and so Snow decided to call Mateus to aid them. Penelo thought about summoning Ultima, but Balthier became even more disgruntled when she asked him. And so while Snow and his esper dealt with the Elder Wyrm, Balthier, Lightning and Penelo held off the zombies and soul eaters that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Lightning didn't know whether or not to be bothered by the fact that the fiends they were killing were just like her; undead. They had been twisted by the Mist, blood thirst becoming their only drive. She wondered if she would end up like that one day, though she remembered that Etro, the goddess who had revived her, had promised that no harm would come to her. She was under Her protection.

"I've always hated the after-effects of summoning espers," Snow moaned after Mateus left his side, the Elder Wyrm lying dead in front of him. "All I want to do now is sleep. You guys wouldn't mind if I did that, would you?"

"We'd leave you behind, then," Lightning scoffed, patting his shoulder. "C'mon, hero. We're almost done here, and then you can return to your Queen."

"Didn't know that you approved of my relationship with Ashe, sis."

"Only if Serah does."

Balthier was inspecting an empty pedestal at the other end of the chamber, kneeling below a statue of a winged-being. "I dare say we're not the first visitors these halls have seen in recent days," he told the other three when they walked up behind him. "This must be where Mydia found the other Stone."

"Can I say something?" Snow asked, raising his hand. Lightning rested her palm over her eyes, shaking her head. Why did all the men she knew act like such children at times?

"Ice, I think that since we've known each other for so long now, you don't need my permission to do anything."

"I was just thinking about that Stone Mydia used to summon Ragnarok. It looked really familiar."

Lightning had to agree with him, even though he'd mentioned the one thing she had tried not to think about. "It looked like the auracite I used to get here," she said, and everyone looked at her. "Fran left a piece of auracite behind for me to find on Pulse, knowing that I would want to see..." She looked at Balthier. "...everyone again. The Stone was shaped like my l'Cie crystal."

"Then how did Mydia get a hold of it?"

"Penny," Balthier said, looking toward the young dancer, "you bought that Stone, and the tear drop on, for Snow and I a few days before..." He paused, remembering that not everyone knew about the whole 'time resetting' issue, "Light came here. Do you remember the one who sold them to you?"

"Well, she was pale and wore a hood over her face," Penelo explained, thinking as she spoke. "Do you think Mydia was the one who sold them to me?"

"It makes sense. Yet how did she find it again, I wonder..."

"You left it behind, didn't you, Lightning? When we found you that day. You were so worked up about seeing Balthier again, I think you forgot to look for the Stone, in case it survived the crash."

"Mydia must have known that Light came to Ivalice, and so she must have found the auracite then," Snow suggested, and then he rolled his eyes. "Talk about complicated..."

Looking at the pedestal once more, Balthier added, "Things are about to become even more complicated. '_To the viera I took as my wife, to our beloved children, this gift I leave. -Feolthanos_'."

"What?" The blond man's jaw dropped. "Why would a god from Lemurés build a temple in Ivalice? And what's this about a wife and children?"

Balthier stood up, walking away from the statue. "I see where this is going," he tiredly said. "The Cache of Glabados was a father's legacy to his family."

Lightning curiously followed him, leaving Snow and Penelo behind, and reached for his hand. He didn't flinch when her chilling skin touched his. What he said next was something she realized had been bothering him the entire time.

"Anyone who calls himself a god to rule over his flock as a benevolent father...has issues that need resolving."

**

* * *

**

While the rest of the crew were away, Filo and Kytes had discovered a map to a volcanic land near the Glabados Ruins. Fran revealed that it was the place where the Feol viera had been exiled years ago, which only prompted both Vaan and Snow to go on a rampage about the Judge of Wings being there.

"We should prepare ourselves for whatever is there," Larsa had gently, yet still sternly said to them both, "before jumping to conclusions."

It was early the next day when they took the _Galbana_ to the Roda Volcano, despite Nono's protests about letting Lightning go along with them. Apparently, like white magick, fire was not good for the undead. She assured him that she would be careful before setting off with the rest of the group, promising him that if she was hurt in any way, he had her permission to blame it on Balthier.

The intense heat of the volcano was getting on everyone's nerves, and Lightning was almost surprised when Balthier deliberately walked beside her and clung to her cold arm. The others - mainly Balthier, Snow and Kytes - had removed most of their clothing due to the unbearable temperature around them. Snow had taken off his trench coat, for once, and wore just a thin shirt and his loose pants, while Kytes had removed only his robe. Balthier wore a lighter blouse, though both Ashe and Lightning had wondered how he could stand still wearing his leather pants in such heat.

Then again, it was Balthier. Appearance meant everything to him.

A lava waterfall was visible in the distance, and on the platform in front of it were the unmoving bodies of Feol viera. Penelo held back her tears until she witnessed the Judge of Wings slaying the last one, and she leaned against Vaan to hide her tears. Basch drew his defender blade, and Snow was quick to unsheathe the ragnarok sword. Lightning, looking down for a moment, placed a trembling hand on the hilt of her gunblade, not sure if it was the right thing to do.

"What have you done?" Vaan called out, wrapping an arm around Penelo's shoulders. "How could you, Mydia?"

The Judge of Wings turned toward them, the rose crystal in hand. "_I bring an end to our race_," she stated; apathetic.

A great fire erupted before her, and a metallic esper glided out from the flames. After a flash of light passed, blinding them all, Lightning wasn't surprised to find herself standing alone, in a field of flowers, facing the translucent hume-like figure of Ragnarok.

**

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_Oh yeah. Another plot twist. And, a hint for upcoming events: I had to re-watch cut scenes from FF13. ;)_


	8. Undisclosed Desire

**Author's Note:** _This chapter was fun to write. I even named it after one of my favorite songs: '_Undisclosed Desires_' by Muse. It's one of the few songs I like by them, and I really think it fits with the way I portrayed the relationship between Balthier/Ragnarok and Lightning in _24_. It could work for this story, too, and maybe even the next one. Hm..._

_Anyway, **The Giant Daifuku** and **HopelessRomanticist**, I think this chapter may mess with your mind. Flashbacks galore!_

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**R** e v e n a n t

Chapter Eight

Undisclosed Desire

"It's you," was all Lightning managed to say. "It's really _you_."

She had only seen Ragnarok's hume-like form in a dream, the shadow of Balthier. His black hair was tied into a small ponytail, and the clothes he wore seemed like what Vaan would wear if he was a few years older. He held a single rose in his hands, fiddling with the thorns as if they weren't even sharp.

"_It's been a while, hasn't it?_" he asked, his red eyes glancing between her and the area around them. "_One year since that day, yes? I've been waiting for the chance to see you again, Claire._"

"Don't call me that," she quietly snapped. "That's not who I am anymore. I'm Lightning now. Or...Maybe I'm not even her. I'm just...an Eternal. An undead."

Ragnarok stepped forward, and she found herself wondering how he managed to avoid crushing the flowers with his bare feet. "_So they say_," he murmured. "_You are your own being, Claire. I would give anything to live as you do, to walk the other realm for eternity. I live here, now, in the realm of the Yarhi. And yet, I am not as they are._"

"What are you, then?"

"_I wish I knew. Perhaps all that is left of me is my anima. My soul. And why, I ask? Because of you, Claire. Your existence, your being...I feel as if it is my own_." He looked toward the misty sky above them, still twirling the rose between his fingers. "_Of course, these feelings between us aren't meant for you and I. No - it never was us._"

She knew what he meant. "Balthier," she breathed.

"_He and I will always be connected_," he said, looking to her and smirking, "_as cliche as that sounds. All that has happened, and all that will happen. Nothing will change._"

"Why am I here, Ragnarok? I should still be with the others, with Balthier-" She pursed her lips, narrowing her eyes. "I can't stay here, Ragnarok. Balthier - he needs me. I can't let him die."

"_He won't. Not for a long time._"

Lightning stared at him. "How do you know that?"

"_Feolthanos...He tells me many things. The past, the present, and the future. He knows of what you fear, Claire. He understands. Which is why he's sent you here, to see me._" Ragnarok let the rose fall from his finger tips, and both of them watched it fall between the paler flowers at their feet. "_I am eternally bound to this realm, now. All because of Feolthanos. Just like that soldier, Velis, and your sister, Serah. We are trapped. And until the other Eternal is killed, we cannot be freed._"

"And so it falls to me to kill him, doesn't it? And when that happens...I'll be the last Eternal, won't I?"

"_It has a nice ring to it, yes?_" It was easy to see how she had mistaken him for Balthier before. Everything about Ragnarok was the same, almost. How easily she had been fooled. "_The last of your kind. But I wonder...Can you stand living without him? Without Ffamran?_"

"I'll find a way to save him. I have to - there's no time for failure. Balthier can't die."

"_I know you will. That fool of a hero will help you, as he always has._" Ragnarok let out a small, gentle laugh; it was almost entrancing. "_Destroyer of Ragnarok he may be called, but he will always be the fool. To me, at the least._"

That was right. Snow had been the one to kill Ragnarok, sending him to the realm of illusions. Her dreams. "Ragnarok," she started to say, "I'm sorry about what happened. Had I the chance, I would have tried to save you. I would have-"

"_Had I lived, Ffamran would have died. You would be here, in my place, and the fool and the viera would remain as they are now. You don't want that to happen, do you?_"

"No. I don't." She bit her lower lip. "I just wish that things could have turned out differently. You said Balthier will die, and what if that's true? How will I..."

He shrugged his shoulders, eyebrows raised in faint concern. "_Gods have never been the most honest of beings. For all you and I know, you can change what has been set._"

Silence had claimed her, and all she could do was stand there and allow Ragnarok to take her in his arms. His skin was cold, like hers, but his touch made it seem as if she was with Balthier again. Closing her eyes, she leaned into his embrace and wrapped her arms around his neck. It was a shame that it was only a dream.

"_It's all up to you, now. Don't lose your heart to a Stone. You're too strong for that, Claire._"

**

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Lightning opened her eyes to the feeling of Balthier's warm arms around her, drawing her close to his body. The esper Chaos had fallen at the hands of Snow and the others, but that didn't matter. Balthier was there, and he was _alive_. So very alive. She tried to speak, allowing him to help her stand, but the sight of the Judge's return had stolen her words.

"_What is life, weighed against the past I have lost?_" the Judge asked them, wielding her sword. Lightning removed her hands from Balthier's arm and took a step forward, her gunblade at the ready.

"I think you've found your anima already," she stated. "But Feolthanos has taken it from you. He's taken Velis away, hasn't he? You've let yourself become consumed by Feolthanos' false promises, corrupted by the thought of bringing the dead back to life. Velis wouldn't want any of this."

The Judge of Wings swung her sword. "_Enough! My sorrow is my own!_"

The rose crystal was thrown into the lava below the ledge they stood on, and from it an array of Yarhi were summoned. Vaan, though he looked as if he was about to collapse, raised his hand and summoned their own Yarhi. As expected, Serah appeared from the series of lights, along with Odin. As soon as the pink carbuncle went to Balthier's side, Lightning made her move.

She went straight for the Judge, ignoring the minuscule beasts chasing after her. Snow had followed her, the ragnarok blade resting upon his shoulder when he stopped running and faced their enemy. Lightning swerved her entire body around, not even wincing when the Judge's sword grazed her side, and leaped into the air. A bullet whizzed past her face, piercing through the armored figure's arm and knocking the sword from her grasp.

Lightning gracefully landed behind the Judge, but the moment she hit the brick floor, a sudden gust of magick energy knocked her off of her feet and sent her off the ledge. Snow called out to her, and he grabbed her hand before she could fall any farther. Her feet dangled below her, lava bubbling enough that it almost touched them. She met Snow's scared eyes, and she wondered if that was the first time he had ever been afraid. No, of course there were other times. He was always afraid, but not for himself.

"My hero," she laughed, though she wanted to do anything but that.

Snow pulled her up, and as soon as she was back on her feet, the Judge of Wings ran at her and slashed her sword. Lightning easily blocked it, smirking when she took a step back. She dove in all directions, running her sword through the armor with each turn, and eventually she stopped at the sound of clanking metal against the brick. The Judge was on her knees, the gunblade held against her neck.

The others' hurried footsteps came up behind her, but to her, it seemed as if they were egging her on, telling her to strike the Judge of Wings down. But she couldn't. Lightning tossed her gunblade aside, taking a few steps back from the fallen woman. Serah slowly went to her, looking up at the ex-soldier with concerned beady eyes.

Dark aura consumed the Judge, and the armor was stripped away in the slowly growing Mist, revealing a Feol viera girl. Mydia didn't face them, not until Balthier walked forward and knelt down across from her.

"You let us win," he said to her. "Why not run? And why not throw away the Stone?"

"I will not suffer him to use others as he has used me," Mydia whispered, her voice much quieter than when she wore her armor. "In death my people are free. The will not know the sorrows I have."

Fran looked upon the Exiled one with no emotion. "You are a fool to think so."

As he stood up, the corner of Balthier's lips quirked upward. "Fools being foolish. What more would you expect?"

Mydia's eyes met Lightning's for the first time, and then everything began to shift into a time before; a memory of happier days.

**

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_Velis was pacing back and forth near the South gate of Rabanastre, eyes darting from his feet to the large stairs to his right. The night sky had claimed the city, and there were only a few lights blinking in the distance. Her footsteps quiet and brisk, Mydia rushed down the steps to meet him._

_"_Sorry I'm late,_" she apologized, gently smiling. "_What's this big news you've to tell me?_"_

_He had stopped her nervous walk to face her. "_I made my decision. I'm going to join the Dalmascan army._"_

_"_You would risk your life so that kings and emperors can play at their game of thrones?_" Mydia pursed her lips, her shorts ears flattening against her hair. "_Why?_"_

_"_So that you can live in a world free of tyranny and fear,_" he answered, running the back of his hand along her long braid. "_And when I'm back, you can take me to visit your family._"_

_The Feol viera smiled, tears forming at the corner of her eyes. "_Oh, Velis..._" She moved to hold him, to embrace him, but slowly Velis began to fade before her eyes. She hung her head low, sitting at the bottom of the stairs and covering her eyes with weak hands._

_"You have felt the same as I. Haven't you_?_"_

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_Lightning, two years younger, stood with her eyes narrowed at the two standing across the table from her. Serah, her bright eyes already filling with wet tears, held onto Snow's hand as if there was nothing else holding her up. Her lower lip was quivering, the sound of the television's words blaring being the only thing she could hear._

_"_You became a l'Cie,_" Lightning spat_, _"_and now you're gonna marry this idiot? And you think I'm gonna buy _that_? Full points for originality, but don't forget. If you're a l'Cie, it's my job to deal with you._"_

_"_Sis..._" Serah's cheeks pink with fear, and her hand slowly fell from Snow's grasp._

_The older Farron turned away, scowling tightly. "_This is ridiculous. Worst birthday ever._"_

_Serah choked out a sob, an arm covering her eyes as she dashed away from the table and out the front door. Looking between the door and where Lightning stood, conflicted, Snow clenched his gloved fists and faced the female soldier._

_"_Why don't you believe her?_" he yelled_.

_"_You're kidding, right?_" Lightning pretended not to smirk, the temptation to see the man break down nearly claiming her. "_She gets turned into a l'Cie, and you pop the question?_"_

_"_Lightning, stop it-_"_

_She slammed her hands against the table, echoing throughout the small dining room. "_No _you_ stop it! Get out of my house!_"_

_"_You're shutting her out? She's your sister!_"_

_The woman turned away completely again, stubbornly crossing her arms. Snow growled lowly, stomping in the direction Serah had run off in._

_"_Fine...I'll do it. I'll protect her._"_

_He left, and Lightning, once she was certain that she was alone, picked up the dagger laying on the table and studied it. "_How practical_," she murmured, before turning her attention to the television at her side._

_With the words of a Sanctum official fading out, the scene switched to the day after her birthday. Lightning was walking past the line of unfortunate people and toward the soldiers standing at the head of the line. One was reading off a list of the Purgees' names, while the others were checking for any suspicious activity. Well, they were about to get a surprise._

_"_Attention Purge deportees,_" the main soldier stated loudly. "_Follow instructions. Personal belongings will be returned upon arrival._" He caught sight of Lightning approaching him, his eyes narrowing from under his helmet. "_What's a GC doing here? This op's under PSICOM direction._"_

_"_So direct me, then,_" she answered, keeping her emotionless stare. "_I want to be Purged._"_

_"_Only l'Cie get Purged. Sanctum soldiers are exempt._"_

_"_Then I quit._"_

_The man scoffed, and with a wave of his arm he yelled, "_Line up!_" Lightning rolled her eyes, sauntering back down the line until she reached the end. A black man with an afro gave her an odd look - she would later learn that his name was Sazh._

_"_Excuse me,_" he said, raising an eyebrow. "_Hey, lady. What gives?_"_

_"_I volunteered,_" she droned, having practiced that line earlier that morning. How many more times would she have to say that?_

_Sazh didn't seem to believe her. "_Really? You don't look ready to go quietly into that good night._"_

_She smirked, taking a few steps forward as the line moved up. "_If you want quiet, you better take the next train._"_

_"_Now I really wanna see what you're up to..._"_

_"To protect those we love. That is all we want."_

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_Hearing Snow suddenly cry out for Serah, Lightning's eyes shot open the moment she sat up from the icy ground. The others, the ones who had foolishly followed her to the fal'Cie Anima, began to wake up as well, looking all around at the crystallized area. She pushed herself to her feet, watching her warm breath puff out in front of her._

_"_This must be...Lake Bresha?_" Sazh said, walking around. "_I guess we fell from up there, and the lake turned to crystal? Help me out here! I mean, did the fal'Cie do this? How in the world did we end up here? And where the hell is that pretty boy we left behind?_"_

_"_How would I know?_" Lightning snapped, turning around to face the group. All of their eyes were on her._

_The young girl with an odd taste in fashion, Vanille, pouted so-slightly. "_We're alive,_" she whispered. "_But, how?_"_

_"_Serah!_" Snow exclaimed, and Lightning wondered how many more times she would be forced to hear that name. "_No one survives a fall like that, not without a miracle. Serah saved us!_"_

_She stormed up to him, glaring. "_Serah? Listen, it's all your fault she got-_"_

_Something groaned behind her, something inhuman, and Snow pushed her out of the way before the Cie'th could fling her to the ground. He landed a solid punch right on its deformed face, though the moment his fist came in contact with its rough skin, if froze completely. The l'Cie brand on his arm faintly glowed, and he stared at it in awe - or was it fear?_

_"_What did I...just do?_"_

_The youngest of their group, Hope, suddenly started to panic and yell. "_You used magick! You used the power of a l'Cie! The fal'Cie cursed us! We're l'Cie now!_" No one moved to comfort the frantic boy, but Vanille gazed at him sympathetically._

_"_So we really are l'Cie,_" Sazh mumbled. "_Then, what the hell are we supposed to do? Follow our Focus? _What_ Focus, anyway?_"_

_"_I think...I saw it._"_

_Everyone looked toward Vanille, and Lightning remembered the vision she had seen the instant she was branded. A beast being summoned, roaring as it plunged through the cracked surface of Cocoon. And a woman, reaching out toward the translucent hand of a man who was fading away; slowly dying._

_"_That is how a Focus comes down, people,_" Sazh explained. "_The fal'Cie? They don't spell it out in clear-cut instructions. All you get is a hazy glimpse...Well, that's what they say. You know, legends and all that._"_

_Lightning didn't want to hear what Snow had to say, so she looked toward Hope. "_Do you remember anything?_" she asked, meeting the boy's teary, confused eyes._

_"_I, uh..._" He wiped his eyes, stammering, "_It's all k-kind of foggy, but I saw this...big, I mean, towering-_"_

_The older man interrupted him. "_Wait a minute, hold on now._" Sazh shook his head, trying to put the pieces together. "_Did we all have the same dream?_"_

_"_Ragnarok,_" both Lightning and Snow said at the same time, and she scowled when he looked at her. He spoke instead, "_So we all saw the same dream. We all heard the same voice._"_

_"_You mean that was our Focus?_" Hope questioned. "_What are we supposed to do with that?_"_

_Vanille sheepishly shrugged her shoulders. "_That's the tricky part,_" she said. "_The dream is the only hit the fal'Cie give us. Figuring out what to do with it, that's our job._"_

_"_Serah,_" Snow breathed, and Lightning's eye twitched at the name. "_She told us to protect Cocoon, and then she turned to crystal. That's the proof right there! She completed her Focus. That must mean ours is to save Cocoon. Serah's fal'Cie was the same as ours, so our tasks have to be the same. We were chosen to be guardians, to defeat Ragnarok! It all makes sense!_"_

_"_The hell it does!_" Sazh retorted. "_You're crazy, son! Pulse fal'Cie are enemies of Cocoon. We just recruited by one of them. If I were a betting man, I'd put us on the other side._"_

_"_So Serah's an enemy, too? Well, I don't buy it! We have the power to save Cocoon. If we work together and carry out this Focus-_"_

_Lightning lost it. She swiftly drew her gunblade and held it against Snow's neck, shutting him up right then and there. "_Our Focus?_" she snapped. "_The fal'Cie took Serah from us, and now you want to help it? Whose side are you on?_"_

_Footsteps thundered around them, and the clicking of guns followed. "_Freeze!_" a soldier commanded. "_Place your hands on your heads!_"_

_She was the only one out of the group that do as told. Instead, she turned around to see the man from before, the man they had left behind to watch over Serah's crystal, being held back by the small group of PSICOM soldiers. Their eyes met, and she almost moved to fire her gunblade at the ones that surrounded him. His eyes never left hers, not until Vanille - foolish, __naïve__ Vanille - waved her hands._

_"_You're all right!_" she greeted, smiling until a rifle was pointed directly between her eyes._

_The soldier told her to shut up, and Lightning saw that the man, the outsider, or whoever he was, had untied the ropes that had bound him and looked ready to kill the soldier threatening Vanille. But he was smirking, even though he could have been killed without resistance. Lightning nodded to him when he met her silent gaze, and his smirk widened._

_"And it was him who stayed with you until the end. Yet you wonder the same as I had, with Velis. When will his end be?"_

**

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The dark aura, or magick, continued to leak from Mydia, and Lightning had sat down in front of her as the memories of the past had played in her mind. The others had been silent, for a long time, and had kept their distance. She wondered if they, too, had seen what she had.

"I want the same as you," Lightning said, breaking the silence. "To live forever...with the ones we care about. But, how? How could you just give yourself over to Feolthanos? To that god?"

"I wanted to believe that I wasn't alone," Mydia whimpered. "But he could not hear me. He has grown deaf to such pleas."

Penelo looked up from where she stood close to Vaan. "Deaf to love?" she asked.

"Feolthanos is bound by a magick that gives him eternal life. Free him from it. End this suffering."

Lightning reached to touch the Feol viera's shoulder, but instead she remained still. "You want us to kill him? To kill an Eternal?"

Nodding once, Mydia closed her eyes. "To live without one's anima is not truly living. But you...You are the one to destroy him. Free Velis. Free Serah. Free yourself."

"I'll do what I can, Mydia."

The young Feol viera fell forward into Snow's open arms, slipping into a deep slumber. The ex-soldier hung her head low as Snow stood up, Mydia in his arms.

"All of this is Feolthanos' fault," she stated, her voice cracking slightly. "We have to find him, and get this over with."

"But how?" Penelo wondered, frowning.

"The anima of the fallen will guide us," Llyud stated. "It calls us to the skies above Lemurés."

Everyone began to walk away, though Lightning stayed in place, kneeling on the tiled brick floor. Her empty eyes moved to the side when she heard Balthier walking up behind her. How long would he wait if she refused to leave? If she refused to let time go on?

"What she showed us..." he started to say, but she cut him off.

"I've never understood how similar I am to Mydia and Feolthanos," she whispered. "Now...It all makes sense. This drive to save Serah, Velis, Ragnarok, and you...It'll be the end of me, won't it?"

"If we kill Feolthanos. That's the key to help you, isn't it?"

Lightning shook her head. "There are others who need to be saved. I won't be selfish. They need to be free. I don't." She slowly pushed herself up, facing Balthier. She only realized then how tired, how withered and frail he was beginning to look, even though it had only been three years in his time. "I can deal with living forever as long as I have you at my side, Balthier."

"There will be a time when I'll be forced to part ways with you. We...we can't change that, Light."

"Can we?"

She brushed past him, leaving Balthier to follow in silence. And that, they knew, was how it would end. And nothing, not a damn thing in the world, could change that.

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_This was longer than I expected. And yup. I changed the Revenant Wings canon storyline again. Mydia liiiiveeessss..._


	9. Catch Your Hand

**Author's Note:** _I have no idea how am I going to end this series...This is harder than I thought! :( I've come up with so many possibilities, but I end up disliking them all. MEH. On a separate note: I effing HATE you, Square-Enix. Yes, Vaan is portrayed as the main character of FF12, but WHY? *sniffle* I'm still hoping that they'll at least think of adding Balthier to a possible sequel to the original Dissidia..._

_Thank goodness my adoring reviewers, __**HopelessRomanticist**__,__** The Giant Daifuku**__, and __**Joshua Chung**__, know who the REAL hero of FF12 is. ;)_

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**R** e v e n a n t

Chapter Nine

Catch Your Hand

_Are you scared, Claire?_

How odd it felt to know that one of their once-enemies was now living on the _Galbana_. No one dared to oppose what Lightning wanted, especially when she demanded that she be in charge of watching over the Feol viera. It was Snow who volunteered to help her with Mydia, in case there was something wrong. The others kept their distance, though Balthier kept a weary eye on her when she sat down beside their newest ally in the sky saloon.

Mydia was huddled up against Snow's arm, using him as a source of heat and comfort. She seemed more frail without her armor, like she was afraid of anything that would come close to her. The only two she had truly trusted were the ones sitting with her.

"How are you?" Lightning asked, then frowned, realizing how stupid the question was.

The Feol viera stared at her with cold eyes. "I am fine," she whispered. "And, you? Have you found means to confront the last of your kind?"

"Feolthanos?" She glanced once in Balthier's direction, and he pretended not to notice. "Where can I find him?"

"You know of where I speak. Eternity's March...The skies above the sky."

Snow stifled a laugh, earning glares from both women. "You viera sure like to speak in riddles," he mumbled, slouching slightly. "I'm still trying to figure out why the hell you showed us visions from the past...That's gotta be the second or third time I've had to re-live those moments."

"They weren't meant for you," Mydia snapped, though she remained calm. "We all have dreams, desires...But not even the Eternal can acquire true immortality. They are not gods."

"You wanted to bring Velis back from the dead, and Feolthanos promised you that he could." Lightning clenched her fists in her lap. "Do you think that...he can help me?"

"You want him to save the hume. To have him life forever, with you."

"That's all I'm asking for."

Mydia shook her head. "If you ask Feolthanos, he will not give you what you wish. That path only leads to death."

**

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To distract herself from what Mydia had told her, Lightning dragged Balthier, Snow and Fran on a mission for Tomaj. They took the _Strahl_ to the Shadow of Paharo in Lemurés while the others stayed in Ivalice with the _Galbana_. Ashe expressed her worry for letting them go off on their own, but Lightning didn't want to be around anyone else while she was in her 'bad mood' (as Snow called it). Killing Yarhi was the perfect way to vent her anger.

And then it got a little more complicated.

Just outside the temple stood Ba'Gamnan and his gang. The leader bangaa swung his chainsaw, his eyes almost laughing when he saw Balthier standing with the group. Lightning rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"You've more spine than I'd credited you, Balthier!" Ba'Gamnan greeted.

"Save your credit," Balthier sighed, resting the fomalhaut against his shoulder. "I'm only passing through."

"Bah! One for all and all for one again, is it? How it moves me, seeing you all back together."

Lightning almost laughed. "We don't turn on each other like a pack of rabid dogs," she spat.

Rinok glared at the four. "Rabid dogs, are we now?"

"Balthier's trained his wench well, aye," Bwagi snickered. "Knows well enough not to bite the hands that feeds, she does."

"I'm not anybody's wench!" Lightning moved to unsheathe her gunblade, but Balthier wrapped an arm around her shoulders to hold her back. She only frowned at him, standing down.

"Don't waste your breath, Light," he muttered to her, glancing to the bangaa. "There's only one language they understand."

Ba'Gamnan swung his chainsaw around again. "We'll see how the worms feed on your wit," he snarled. "Time to silence master and wench once and for all!"

Even though she knew that her main objective was to keep Balthier safe, Lightning dashed forward and went straight for the bangaa leader, while Snow and Fran dealt with the others. Balthier stayed back, carefully avoiding getting too close to the spinning chainsaw that was meant for him; or rather, his head. He could only shake his head as he watched his apparent leading lady dive right into the middle of the fight, followed closely by the fool Snow. True, the heroes were never meant to die in the stories, but only Lightning would be able to follow that rule for the rest of eternity.

_Not unless you change fate, Balthier._

A small, pink-colored carbuncle twirled its tail around his leg, walking around his feet and staring up at him. Balthier stared at it for a few moments, not sure why it was there in the first place. Vaan wasn't around to summon his mindless army of Yarhi, so there couldn't possibly be another reason for the little creature being there.

"Serah?"

The carbuncle closed its eyes, nodding once. A sudden cry earned both of their attention, not too surprised to see that Lightning had managed to, once again, save Snow from getting his head sliced off. Unfortunately, the ex-soldier was kneeling in the grass, clutching a now nearly severed hand. Her gunblade was off to the side, having fallen from her grip the moment her hand was almost sawed off. Balthier looked to Fran once, smirking when he saw that she was already readying a dark magick spell.

Lightning glared up at Ba'Gamnan, the only one left of the bounty hunter gang. The blood dripping didn't bother her, but she wasn't too sure that the red would wash out anymore. Balthier always disliked cleaning her clothes after every battle.

Yet when she turned her eyes away for a second, Ba'Gamnan was charging directly for Balthier and Fran. Lightning hurriedly got to her feet, grabbing Snow's ragnarok blade from him, and skid across the grass in time to block the chainsaw with the sword. The force of the blow nearly pushed her into Balthier, but he grabbed her arm to stop her from falling over.

One blind magick arrow from Fran ended the fight, and Ba'Gamnan and his gang took off running. Snow tried to give chase, yelling at the four to come back and 'fight against the real hero', but Balthier coolly stopped him, patting his shoulder.

"They're harmless enough with their tails turned like that," he said, shrugging sheepishly. The carbuncle - or rather, Serah - was calmly sitting upon his shoulders, curled up around his neck and falling asleep. Lightning stopped herself from laughing at that.

"So we just let 'em go?" Snow whined, looking back to the temple.

"Miss them already? Don't worry, they'll be back."

The blond stared down at the creature snuggled around Balthier's neck, eyebrows raised in both suspicion and confusion. "Balthier? What's the deal with that carbuncle? I didn't think the wild ones were so docile..."

"Sazh had a chocobo with him the entire time he was a l'Cie, and still has it to this day. Is it wrong of me to want to follow in his footsteps?"

"But a _pink_ carbuncle?"

"I hold quite a fancy for the color pink, if you haven't noticed by now, Ice." Balthier scratched Serah's chin, and she mewled quietly before looking directly at Snow. "And besides the point, she's quite tame. I've always wanted a pet, you know."

"You've got Nono, don't you?"

"He's decided to disown me and follow Light around these days."

While the two of them continued their discussion of Balthier's odd quirks, Fran noticed how tense Lightning was after having her hand healed, and frowned. "You are troubled?"

What she said wasn't what they were expecting. "Why does everyone think I'm Balthier's wench?" she asked, curiously looking at the faces of the three standing around her.

"Uh..." Snow rubbed the back of his neck, eyes darting in all directions and avoiding her face. "Maybe its because of the way you're dressed? Or, maybe its because the two of you are always sneaking away in the middle of the night to-"

Her fist pounded him to the ground, a sickening crack filling their ears. Lightning took a step back, rubbing her fist and scowling. "Very funny, but I'm not laughing, Snow. I'm just the leading lady to his leading man. Got it?"

She stormed off, Balthier walking right behind her, and the viera pretended not to smile before going after them. Snow, massaging his abused cheek, stood up and grumbled after them. "I hate having just a cameo role..."

**

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**

Serah was curled up between Lightning and Balthier, huddled beneath the thin blankets and snoring quietly, her tail flicking back and forth. She had somehow managed to leave the world of the Yarhi for the time being without being called into battle, but Lightning didn't care about whatever reasons she had. As long as her younger sister was there, even if she was a Yarhi, then everything would be all right.

"You never told me that Serah was one of them," Balthier murmured, his eyes drooping as he laid back down on the bed. He rested his head on Lightning's shoulder, despite how cold her skin was. He seemed to be too tired to notice.

"I didn't think it was important to you." She stared up at the blank ceiling, sighing. "You've been so busy with..."

"Doing nothing?"

She forced a smile. "I just didn't want you to deal with my problems, Balthier. You know how much I hate it when you try to stop me from doing something reckless."

Balthier wrapped an arm around her waist, brushing his nose along the crook of her neck. "I don't recall ever doing such a thing. Is your memory slipping away again?"

"You're worse at telling jokes than Snow."

"I'm not the comic relief. He is." He slowly ran his fingers down the pale skin of her arm. "You and I, on the other hand, are the leading actors in this meager play. Whatever happens is up to us."

"How is it that you can stay so sure about everything? You're always so..._calm_ about what's gone on since we've met."

"You haven't seen me at my worst."

Lightning reached down and gently scratched behind Serah's ear. "Ragnarok, you mean. I never saw you transform into it."

"Snow did tell me, when we were at the Pharos a few years back, that he was faced with a false memory - a different way the battle with Orphan could have gone. Instead of Fang becoming the beast, I did. He said you were quite shocked to see me on a bad day."

"I wouldn't be so afraid now."

"Are you so sure about that?"

**

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**

The _Galbana_ made a quick stop to Archades, where Basch allowed Mydia to wear the armor of a judge once more (Balthier stubbornly stayed in the ship). She firmly told the crew that she wanted to help them in their fight against Feolthanos, and even though Vaan had his doubts, he was more than happy to let her join them.

The Feol viera was standing in front of a long mirror, staring at herself. Her armor was silver with gold lining, with a crimson cape flowing down from the neck. She chose not to wear a helmet, only so she would be able to look Feolthanos in the eyes when she would strike him down. Lightning walked up behind her, foot steps quiet and graceful as ever.

"You ready to go?" she asked, leaning against the wall. "Vaan said we're about to take off for Eternity's March."

"I am ready," Mydia sighed. "Though I can't help but wonder: are you?"

"What d'you mean?"

She faced the ex-soldier, picking up her icebrand sword and tying it to her belt. "With Feolthanos' death, you will be the last Eternal. It is not easy to be the last of your kind, I know this. You and I are alike, Claire."

Lightning's eye barely twitched at the sound of her old name. "How does one become an Eternal, exactly?"

"Either they must be blessed by a god, or become a god themselves."

"So if we hadn't separated Balthier and Ragnarok...He would still be immortal?"

"If you had allowed that to happen, he would have died. Eventually, the god's power would become too much, and the hume would no longer withstand it. Humes are not meant to live long, but the Eternal...They will not live forever, either."

The group set off to Eternity's March, and Lightning sat on the railing in front of the ship's controls as they flew into the new world. At first she thought they had simply fallen asleep and were dreaming; there was nothing around the _Galbana_ but stars and clouds. A large, castle-like building appeared out of nowhere, and she began to wonder if she _was_ dreaming.

"The perfect place for an Eternal to rest," she murmured in a low voice.

She followed Vaan out the door, and with a slow pace she walked down the long bridge toward the castle. Mydia was walking at her side, sword already in hand, and gave the ex-soldier a small smile when their eyes met. Lightning turned her rigid eyes toward the building before them, her lips pursed. At last they reached the inner halls of Feolthanos' hiding place, and just as they walked up seemingly endless stairs, Fran stopped in place.

"The Mist," she hissed, "tis strong here."

"Guess we better be careful, then," Kytes suggested, puzzledly rubbing his chin.

They reached a large chamber with an extravagent throne in the middle, and sitting in it was an aegyl with black wings. He looked no older than Basch, with shoulder length red hair and a beard to match. His eyes, however, were completely gray.

"Feolthanos?" Llyud asked, breaking the long pause between the group.

"_The darkness that haunts us began when we were driven from Ivalice_," the aegyl god spoke; lips unmoving. "_We have fought amongst ourselves ever since. Now, trapped here for so long as forget why we fight. All that is left of us is pain. And so we fight on._"

Feolthanos stood, and without speaking to them any further, he walked past them all and down the steps behind them. As he left, however, he transformed into a judge-like figure, a mere copy of the Judge of Wings. Mydia was the first to run after the god, followed closely by Lightning and Vaan, yet when they reached the hall, they froze in place. The limp forms of lifeless aegyl guards were lying all around the room, and standing in the center was Feolthanos. He cut down the last one, chuckling quietly.

Penelo fell to her knees, starting to sob, and Vaan quickly rushed to her side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Lightning's lips curled upward, and she spat in a whisper, "What kind of god kills his own people?"

"We cannot turn our back on these horrors," Basch agreed, drawing his defender blade. "That way lies only darkness."

Feolthanos turned and faced them. "_In the skies we saw freedom, and so we came here. But the skies soon became another prison. Sorrow begot sorrow. I take their shattered anima, and give unto them new life!_"

Translucent energy began to seep from the dead aegyl, and Feolthanos held up a blue crystal, absorbing their anima. In a flash, espers surrounded him and stood against the party. One of them was Odin, and Lightning silently made him her first target.

"_I use these crystals to absorb them, and their suffering. Small recompense, perhaps, but what more can I offer? Without their anima, they feel neither anger nor sorrow. They suffer not. The sky's promise of peace is fulfilled. A peace that spans the ages._"

Lightning didn't waste any time starting the fight, and neither did Mydia. They both sliced through the weaker Yarhi as they ran and went straight for Odin. The ex-soldier held her gunblade in both hands when she jumped up, landing behind the knight and piercing the blade through his back. Electric energy shot through the armor and the gunblade, and Lightning fell from the horse when she felt her muscles go numb.

Even when she hit the floor, she didn't feel anything. She just laid there, staring at the cloudy ceiling and wondering what just happened. She couldn't hear anything; not the yells of battle, nor the cries of the espers as they fell. It wasn't until Mydia was standing over her, holding out a hand.

"Are you all right?" the Feol viera asked, pulling Lightning to her feet. Odin had disappeared, and the others were holding off the last of the Yarhi around them. "I did not warn you of the dangers of attacking a creature that was once your own. Odin was your summon, before?"

"Yeah, back in Cocoon."

Feolthanos walked out from the shadows when the last esper, Famfrit, fell. Lightning ran forward, ignoring Penelo's pleas, and faced the god on her own. "Release the aegyl's anima - now!" she yelled, pointing her gunblade directly at the armored face.

"_Your empty plea is but another futile struggle. But I will have your anger and hatred gladly._" Feolthanos raised the blue crystal in his hand, a light began to emit from it. "_I will have your anima!_"

Before she even had the chance to move against the god, someone pushed her out of the way and to the floor. Balthier stood in the god's path, not even crying out when the magick energy came forth and stole his anima. When the light faded and everything was silent, he collapsed into Snow's arms. His eyes remained closed, just like he was sleeping. Lightning stared at him, sitting on the floor and unable to move.

"What have you done?" Vaan demanded, his knuckles whitening as he held his danjuro dagger. "What the _hell _have you done?"

"_The anima of the aegyl are long since bled dry_," Feolthanos answered, turning his back to the group. "_They are of no value, but humes shall suffice._"

Lightning pushed herself up, walking in front of the others with her gunblade held firmly in her hand. "We're going to stop you," she exclaimed. "We're going to stop you, and win back our freedom. Your time is over!"

A dark light engulfed Feolthanos, and he staggered against the wall. "_Traitor to your own...blood. The dead do not speak!_"

**

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**

_Lightning, the ragnarok blade falling from her hands, stood before an angelic figure that rose from the ground. A boy, resembling Balthier, stepped forward with two pistols aimed toward the angel. He was smirking, but even Lightning could see the worry in his eyes. The tear-drop crystal was shattered, and the angel opened her eyes, looking to the two standing against her._

**

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**

"_What do you hope to accomplish, daughter of Etro?_" Feolthanos asked her, as soon as she looked up. "_Do you want me to beg for forgiveness for what I have done? For what you will do in my honor?_"

She looked to the others. Filo was crying over Balthier, still in Snow's protective arms, while Penelo tried to heal him. Nothing seemed to work.

"_After all I've done for you? Endured your suffering to spare you?_" Feolthanos faded before their eyes, and Basch, Ashe and Vaan ran to where he once stood. They all looked to each other, confused.

"What was all that about?" the young sky pirate asked, sheathing his dagger in his belt.

Fran shook her head. "Another illusion in the Mist," she answered. "His true form lies elsewhere."

"Then this was all some trick?"

"The future we saw was true enough."

Turning his eyes toward the rest of their group, Basch frowned. "And now, Balthier has paid the price for it. A high price to pay."

Balthier's eyes opened, though they remained gray and empty. As Snow helped him sit up, Lightning rushed over and knelt down beside him, taking his hand in hers. "Balthier," she breathed, though he didn't seem to see or hear her. "Balthier, it's me. Lightning? I'm here."

"He's lost his anima," Ashe stated, walking up behind them. "His _soul_..."

The ex-soldier shook her head. She reached up and touched his cheek, but he continued to look right through her. "No, it wasn't...It wasn't meant to be this way," she whispered. "He told me so. He promised that he would...stay." Mydia looked down at her, and then she turned away and closed her eyes. Serah jumped down from Snow's shoulder and pawed at Balthier's arm, but she, too, made no difference.

_Changing fate...sometimes means sacrificing all we have left._

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_Yes, another sort-of cliffhanger. Why did this chapter take me so long to write...? And, say whaaaat? Random visions strike again!_


	10. Reality

**Author's Note:** _Pretty sure I'm gonna be doing a sequel to _**Because You Are Here** _as one of my next projects, as well as a spin off to this series. The plot bunnies are following me around waaaaay too much. Also...Proof that I am obsessed with crossover pairings: my desktop background is Balthier and Lightning, and I'm constantly doodling things of Snow&Ashe, Gabranth&Vanille, and Balthier&Lightning. Heck yes._

_**The Giant Daifuku**__ and __**HopelessRomanticist**__, I apologize in advance for the cliffhanger...And yes, I stayed up until 2:00 in the morning to get this done. Sleeeeep time for me now!  
_

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**R** e v e n a n t

Chapter Ten

Reality

Instead of venturing any further, they decided to return to the _Galbana_ and rest. Snow refused to leave Balthier's side once they were back on the ship and on the way to Ivalice, and even though Fran expressed her worry, she couldn't face what had happened to her partner, what had become of him. Lightning couldn't, either.

Although, Balthier did the things he would normally do as if he still had his anima. He would walk around the air ship (under Snow's supervision, of course), watch Filo and Kytes argue about sky pirating, and sometimes he would even run his hands through Fran's hair. But he wouldn't look at Lightning. It was as if she wasn't even there.

When they decided to stay in Rabanastre, in the apartment above Migelo's shop, Vaan found Lightning sitting outside on the porch, staring at the night sky. She had borrowed one of Ashe's dresses from the palace since her clothes, once again, were ruined in battle. The white material blended with her pale skin, and she was constantly adjusting the sleeves because they were too short for her arms. And, well, she didn't like the idea of wearing it.

"You're out here all by yourself?" Vaan asked, crossing his arms. "I thought you'd be inside with everyone else."

Lightning glanced back at him, turning her head to the side. "Nah," she replied. "I think my presence would upset everyone. It's my fault Balthier lost his anima. If he didn't have to feel the need to protect me all the time, he'd still be his normal self. Now he's just...Not there anymore."

"Don't you know what would have happened to you if Feolthanos had taken your anima?"

She tugged at her thin sleeves again.

"Without your anima, you're just...A shell? I think that's how Mydia put. She says the weirdest of things."

"I'm just a walking corpse, aren't I?" She leaned against the railing, resting her head in the palm of her hand. "You know, Vaan, maybe I should just let Feolthanos take my anima. At least then I won't have to watch everyone I know get old and eventually die. Balthier, Snow, Fran, you, _everyone_. You guys will be gone, one day, and I'll be left alone."

"What about that thing Feolthanos showed us?" He walked up beside her, stretching out his arms. "The vision of the future. You weren't going after that angel-thing alone. There was a guy there with you - a guy who looked like Balthier. I wouldn't be surprised if he's your son, or-"

Lightning laughed all of the sudden, nearly making Vaan fall off the porch. "Vaan, I can't have kids. Don't you know that? I'm not alive, and my body can't change anymore. And, besides that, Balthier's not the father type. He _hates_ dealing with children."

"Hey, it's just an idea! You never know. Maybe you're gonna find a way to be some-what mortal."

"Keep dreaming, Vaan." She smiled faintly and gently punched his shoulder. "But, thank you. For cheering me up."

She spent the rest of the night wandering around Rabanastre, and for once she didn't have a weapon with her. Ever since she had arrived in Ivalice, all she had been doing was running around and trying to find some way to change Balthier's fate. Now, it seemed that it had been changed. But she didn't know how long he would be able to live without his soul; none of them did.

When she returned to the apartment, Mydia was sitting beside Balthier while he slept between her and Snow, using the latter as a pillow, on the only couch in the small room. Serah was curled up in the sky pirate's lap, a paw covering her face. But like Lightning, Mydia seemed to not be able to sleep.

"That dress looks lovely," the Feol viera commented, looking up from the book she was reading. "Someday you and I must go out to the bazaar, and see if we can find you something just like it."

"I don't think I'll be going to a bazaar anytime soon." Lightning, fidgeting with the skirt of her dress, reluctantly eyed Balthier's sleeping form. "Is everyone else asleep?"

"Mhm. The Queen was wondering where you were, though."

"What about Balthier?"

Mydia shook her head. "He remains the same. Without his anima, there is nothing but a living shell."

"Which is the opposite of what I could have been, right?"

"There is a way we can return his anima. If we defeat Feolthanos, destroy the last auralith...Then Balthier's anima will be returned." Mydia stood up, covering the two men with the blanket she had been holding. "Yet I wonder if that is truly what will happen. I can feel the presence of the Divine within him, still. You have known this?"

"Yeah, Ragnarok told me that he and Balthier were still a part of each other. Do you think that, maybe, we could use that to somehow make him immortal? I mean, I know that it probably won't work, but still. I can't help but wonder that there's something that I can still do to stop him from dying."

"You could ask your goddess. The one that gave you life once more."

Fran was standing in the doorway that led to the other set of rooms, calmly watching the other two women with the smallest of smiles on her mocha-colored face. How long had she been standing there? Lightning frowned and cast her eyes downward.

"Snow might have been able to talk with the Occuria and the fal'Cie whenever he wanted, but I'm not him. I can't just call for Etro and expect that she'll show up. I'm not even a part of her world anymore," she murmured, folding her arms across her chest. "I guess I _could_ try, but...Maybe I'm just too afraid that I'll be told what I don't want to hear."

"T'is better than not hearing anything at all," Mydia answered. She looked toward the window and to the city outside. "We will understand everything tomorrow. Feolthanos will fall, and Velis will be free."

Lightning had almost forgotten that Mydia was only there for her own reasons; not to help others with their problems.

**

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**

"All right, here's the plan," Snow stated, as soon as everyone was back on the _Galbana_. "We go in there, kick the god's sorry ass, and save the day."

Filo and Kytes burst out laughing, while Ashe covered her face with the palm of her hand. From where he sat between Fran and Penelo, Balthier looked up and blankly looked at the two children, almost confused.

"What? You don't like my plan?" Snow asked, looking at all their faces. Llyud rolled his eyes, halting his slow pace across the floor. Lightning, glad to be wearing her normal armor again, met his amused expression, yet she didn't even crack a smile for him.

"It has flaws," Fran spoke. "Not to mention foul words of humes."

"Balthier said worse! So don't-" He stopped, frowning when he noticed the saddened look in Lightning's eyes. "I mean, he _says_ worse. Or he will, again. That's why we gotta get rid of Feolthanos, and get Balthier's anima back."

Mydia narrowed her eyes. "And save Velis, as well as your wife."

"_Ex_-wife," he corrected her, purposely avoiding Ashe's raised eyebrow. "I'm not married to anyone, uh, _yet_."

Basch, only partially listening to the conversation before, was now paying full attention. "_Yet_?" he questioned, almost glaring at the trench coat-wearing knight. "Would you care to explain that statement, Snow?"

Everyone's eyes was on Snow; even Balthier, who was resting his head on Fran's shoulder, almost curiously watching the events unfolding in front of him. "Well, you know," Snow stammered, "me and Ashe are kinda...uh, engaged?"

"Engaged?" Larsa peered out from behind the map he was examining with Tomaj. "I didn't know that it was possible for someone from another world to marry a Queen. Especially one who has only recently become a knight to her kingdom."

From where she was standing near the fountain, Ashe dusted off the front of her skirt before walking over to Snow; or rather, her fiance? "Laws can change," she explained, "as long as Snow vows to stay at my side as long as I remain Queen. The Senate have no control over who I marry, even if they threaten to take away my throne."

Vaan was now laughing with Filo and Kytes, and even a glare from both Penelo and Fran didn't stop them.

"What, you don't think I'd make a good King?" Snow asked, folding his arms across his chest and smirking. "Don't you know that I'll have the power to put you _sky pirates_ in jail once I'm in charge?"

"That means you gotta arrest Balthier, Fran and Lightning, too!" Filo chimed between giggles. "They're sky pirates, aren't they? They've been pirating and doing all that fun stuff for _years_."

Lightning propped her feet on the bricks surrounding the fountain, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. "Back to the main topic; when exactly did this...engagement take place?" Or, more so, did Serah know? She looked to the carbuncle happily sitting on Balthier's lap, her small eyes carefully watching the pair. "Don't tell you've had this planned since before I even _got_ here."

"Actually, yes," Ashe answered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "The moment Snow returned from the other world, he proposed. He said he wanted to wait until he heard from you to actually make the news public. Of course...We did not know that you would actually come to Ivalice so soon."

As much as she admired the Queen, Lightning wasn't convinced. She looked at Serah again, who seemed to be perfectly content with having her ears massaged by Balthier.

_It's okay, Claire. I want Snow to be happy. That's all that matters to me._

"You don't need my permission to get married," she finally told them. "Serah...would want what's best for the both of you. Her opinion is all you need."

For some reason, Balthier was staring at her as if he knew of her uncertainty. But when she looked toward him, there was nothing there.

**

* * *

**

To think, Feolthanos was the last auralith. The final thing they needed to destroy in order to put things right. The gods would no longer control their worlds, no longer be able to change fate. As Lightning stood in front of the godly, crystallized form of Feolthanos, she wondered if Balthier, from where he was waiting in the _Galbana_, understood what was going to happen. About what she was going to do.

"_What you have seen is no work of mine_," Feolthanos spoke to the ones standing at the end of the stairs. "_Our imprisonment in the skies, the curse of our immortal corpses...Your gods of Ivalice, and the fal'Cie, did this. I claimed the anima of my people to seek revenge against these gods, and I took the anima of Ragnarok's vessel to bring judgment. Who are you to judge what I have done?_"

Vaan smirked. "We got rid of those gods already," he stated. "Now it's time to get rid of you. What the Occuria did to the aegyl was terrible, but it can't excuse this."

"No peace," Ashe continued, "is worth the price your people were made to pay. Don't you see that you've only destroyed that which you sought to protect?"

"You're no better than the fal'Cie," Snow scoffed, pushing past Lightning and Fran, "taking away the souls of people. And the Occuria? Like them, you've stolen the life of a good man. And for that, it's my job to destroy you!"

"_You have grown too proud. You are unworthy of the anima you possess, as was Ragnarok's vessel. Pride is a sin. The worst of them all._"

The clanking Mydia's armor echoed as she stepped forward. "Not even I, born of your own blood, believe this!" she cried. "Do you not see what I was trying to do? I wish to save you, my father!"

"_Save me? A god? Child, gods cannot be saved._"

In a flash of blinding light, forcing the group to cover their eyes, Balthier was standing between them and Feolthanos. Lightning flinched, the hand that was once placed on the hilt of her gunblade now limply hanging at her side, and yelled out his name when a burst dark magick struck him. The incomplete form of Ragnarok crouched where the sky pirate once was, its green eyes scanning the frightened faces staring at it.

Snow seemed to have lost his mind. He tried to lunge for the crystallized Feolthanos, yelling out, but Basch held him back. "How _dare_ you!" he snarled. "I'll _kill_ you! You bastard, I'll _murder_ you!"

"_Anima are fleeting things. Living, dead, it matters not. Easily taken, easily restored. Your task is the same, hume. Take up your Sword of Kings once more. Destroy what will end them._"

"No, this is wrong!" Penelo cried, just as the ragnarok blade transformed into the Sword of Kings in Snow's trembling hands. He seemed too lost in his anger to even notice what was happening. "Why must you allow this to continued?"

"_Have you not realized the truth? We gods cannot die._"

Lightning's eyes remained on Ragnarok's tense form when she walked forward. "This can't be real," she mumbled; weak. "Ragnarok isn't a monster. He never _was_. All he wants is to be human." She unsheathed her gunblade, smirking and holding it toward Feolthanos. "And if you take that chance from him, your life is mine!"

"_Traitor to your own blood. You are no longer welcome._"

A shock of light flew through her, and when she fell to her knees, Lightning vanished before the eyes of her comrades with the echo a sickening snap.

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_Snow, sometimes you make me mad with your stupidity, but I love your dedication to everyone. :D_


	11. Salvation

**Author's Note:** _Yes, I am insane. Writing this chapter is much more fun than writing an essay about terrorists. :) My fingers kinda hurt from typing so much...But, oh well! Better than writing out the story in a notebook, and then typing it up. This way, it gets done faster!_

_Trying a different style here, too, again. Flipping through scenes, past/present stuffs. The usual._

_You guys better love me for this, __**HopelessRomanticist**__ and __**The Giant Daifuku**__!_

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**R** e v e n a n t

Chapter Eleven

Salvation

_One day before..._

"We're going to get his anima back, aren't we?" Penelo fidgeted with the end of her braid as she looked as the gloomy faces standing in the bridge of the _Galbana_. "I mean, Balthier can't live like this forever. It wouldn't be right to let him not have his soul for the rest of his life."

"_If_ he lives long enough without it," Llyud added. "We aegyl, without our anima, live even shorter lives than we would with it. Balthier will not survive much longer without his anima."

Snow was pacing back and forth, and sitting on the railing, watching him boredly, was Balthier. Since returning to the ship, the sky pirate seemed to only follow Snow and Fran around, and didn't say a word to anyone. No one knew what to think of it, but Vaan had come up with the theory that Balthier would have been following Lightning around, but seeing as how she was an undead, he wasn't completely aware of her presence. She pretended to not have heard that.

"The gods be damned," the tall blond cursed, and he stopped his pace to turn toward the others. "I say we march back to Feolthanos and demand that he make Balthier normal again. This is the _last_ time they ruin his life."

The Feol viera shook her head, her long hair spilling into her lap when she looked down. "Feolthanos will not listen to your hume-speak," she explained. "His ears are only worthy to those equal to him. Your words will mean nothing."

"I _don't care_! I'm not going to let anyone get in my way. I've killed gods before, so I can easily kill one again."

"You've never been killed by one, have you?" Lightning asked, glancing up from where she was sitting on the stair way. Everyone turned in her direction, surprised that she was even talking. "Balthier and I are the only ones around that've been killed by the gods, and we've been brought back to life by them, too. You don't know what it's like to go through life knowing that you're living on borrowed time. Someday, we're gonna have to give it back. And in this case, Balthier's time is up."

Snow slammed his fist against the controls of the ship, nearly denting the metal. "_Don't_ _say that_!" he yelled, but she didn't even flinch. "I'm going to save Balthier, no matter what it takes! Maybe it's my turn to pay a visit to the afterlife, you ever think of that?"

"Then the world will be down one idiot. Whoopie."

"What's gotten into you, Lightning? I thought you would do anything to save Balthier. I thought you loved-"

"Shut _up_," she snapped, standing up all of the sudden. "You don't know _anything_, Snow! You don't understand what it's like to know that everyone you care about is going to die when you're still _young_! I'm going to have to watch all of you die, and I won't have the chance to save anyone! At least seeing Balthier die now is better than just _waiting_ for him to leave me."

"So that's it?" Snow clenched his fists, eyes narrowed. "You're giving up, huh? What ever happened to the Lightning who wanted nothing more than to be happy? I guess she died that day on the _Palamecia_, and left with that damned Ragnarok."

Lightning's eyes widened at the sound of the name.

"Don't think we haven't noticed that _look_ on your face every time someone mentions it. You loved that monster, didn't you?" When she didn't answer him, he pressed further. "You'd rather be with Ragnarok than Balthier. Is that it? Are humans not good enough for you anymore?"

"Snow-"

"I forgot. You're just an Eternal now. Maybe it would be better for you to just go back to Feolthanos, beg him to bring Ragnarok back and rule Ivalice and Lemurés with the thing. Better yet, how 'bout you go destroy Cocoon and Pulse, too?"

"Then I guess it's your job as 'hero' to get rid of me before I do." Lightning turned around and stormed down the stairs, not noticing the confused stare she was receiving from Balthier.

**

* * *

**

_Present day..._

"Lightning! _Lightning_!"

When the echo faded away, all they could hear was Snow desperately calling out for their lost comrade. Even Basch had to close his eyes, blocking out the screams. Feolthanos remained encased in his crystal, and Ragnarok bore its teeth at the humes standing at the top of the stairs.

"Where is she?" Snow yelled, raising the Sword of Kings toward the auralith. "Where's Lightning?"

Feolthanos said nothing. Ashe cast her eyes downward for a moment, and then she walked to the one standing at the front of the group. At seeing her standing there, Ragnarok bounded up the stairs and launched for the Queen. Snow blocked its path, his feet skidding on the floor as he was being pushed back. The others drew their weapons, though were still hesitant.

"It's me, Balthier!" he yelled to the beast, almost out of breath. "It's _Ice_! Don't you remember me?"

Ragnarok bit down on the Sword, unaffected by the so-called magick within it. And when he had a sudden revelation, Snow knew that, this time, he wasn't going to make it. He pulled away from the beast, smirking, and motioned for it to strike him down.

**

* * *

**

Lightning could feel her bones stitching themselves back together when her consciousness returned. The constant cracking didn't bother her as much as it usually would, but that was only when she had people watching her. Around her, somewhere, she could hear the mechanical parts of wheels turning moving in unison with her bones repairing themselves. When she opened her eyes, she knew where she was.

The two-faced Orphan was lowering itself into the pool of what she now knew was collected magick energy, and standing before it was Fang, her lance limply hanging from her grasp. Vanille was beginning to stir, waking up as well, and looked to her closest companion with fear. As Lightning looked to the others, her eyes stopped when she saw Balthier's barely awake form laying a few feet away from her. He pushed himself up, wincing when he felt the burn marks on his arms and adjusting the goggles on his forehead. He staggered to his feet, slowly walking over to the two Oerbans.

"Have you ever paused to consider our reason for making l'Cie of men?" Orphan asked the three, its wheel turning around and around behind it. "We fal'Cie are crafted for a single purpose and granted finite power to that end. With men it is not so. Men dream, aspire, and through indomitable force of will achieve the impossible. Your power is beyond measure."

As she gently felt her arms, checking for any injuries, Lightning kept her eyes focused on Balthier. Why was she in the past? Her clothes were what they once were, her old Guardian Corps uniform, and everyone else looked the same, too. Even Balthier, though he had only aged four years since leaving Cocoon the first time, looked so much _younger_.

"We take l'Cie," Orphan continued, "that we might wield such strength. Through you, we obtained freedom from our bondage. And now, your Focus alone remains." It raised its metallic arm, summoning magick. "Defy it, and all will be for naught."

Red, electric rings surrounded Vanille, shocking every inch of her small body and forcing her to cry out. Balthier stepped forward, his dark eyes big with terror, and Fang seemed to be too afraid to move to save her companion.

"Cocoon's sacrifice, and that of Ivalice as well. Yet," Orphan smirked twistedly, "if we but summon the Maker, we will be granted the chance to begin again. All our sins absolved, and the world - born anew!" It raised its arm again, lifting Vanille into the air as the magick continued to fly through her body. "Submit, l'Cie! Become Ragnarok! Lead us into the light!"

"Let her go!" Balthier exclaimed, running forward. Lightning tried to move to stop him, but her legs were still numb.

The fal'Cie's eyes laid upon him, narrowed and small. "We have no need of flawed humes."

"Orphan! I'll do it." He clenched his fists, staring at his feet. "I'll destroy you."

The rings around Vanille faded, and uttering a weak cry, she was thrown toward the floor. Fang managed to catch her before she could get hurt again, but Lightning quickly turned her eyes toward Orphan again. What was Balthier _doing_?

"Ragnarok. The will to guide a world unto oblivion." Orphan turned all its eyes on him. "Can you bear the sin of our salvation?"

"You heard me. I said, I'll _do it_!"

Vanille pushed away from Fang's strong embrace, stumbling toward Balthier and pleaded with him. "Balthier, you can't! Please, you can't break our promise! We promised to save Cocoon and Ivalice! We _promised_!"

The fomalhaut gun was aimed at her in a second, and Balthier turned his gaze away from her pitiful expression. "I made a promise, as well," he told her, his voice cold. "To ending this in my own way. Once I destroy Orphan, I'll return to my world." He faced her, and Lightning's heart would have stopped when she saw the color change in his eyes. "And then...I'll be free!"

Before he had the chance to shoot her, Lightning forced her legs to work again and ran for him. She wrapped her arms around his torso, and the two of them plunged into the pool of magick beneath Orphan. When she opened her eyes, she felt Balthier slip from her grip and fall deeper into the abyss. She tried reaching for him, flashes of the time Cocoon was crystallized appearing before her eyes, but he closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall.

Someone grabbed her by the neck of her shirt, pulling her back up to the floor. She coughed to get the water out of her lungs, banging her fist on the tiled floor and she crawled on her knees. Snow moved his hands away from her, something else grabbing his attention. Lightning looked up, wiping her eyes and shaking the water from her hair, and exclaimed, "Balthier-!"

The sky pirate was dripping with water, soaking wet, but magick energy was pulsing around him. He glared at the five l'Cie and one Eternal, his sharp teeth glittering all of the sudden. "This is my task," he breathed heavily, "and no one is going to stop me!"

He fired the fomalhaut once, and Mist erupted between the group of l'Cie before Lightning had the chance to run. She could feel her skin crystallizing, changing into that translucent material she hated so much, but someone was reaching for her, begging her to keep going. She took their hand, not caring whoever it was, and shut her eyes.

It was the sound of a Cie'th growl that pulled her back to reality - or, was it a dream, still? The deformed creatures rose up from their crouched positions, all five of them heading toward the sky pirate calmly standing in front of the fal'Cie. One of the Cie'th kicked a lance to the side, and Lightning wondered why she hated been turned into one of those fiends.

"All that I've done," Balthier whispered, dropping the fomalhaut to the floor. "Is this what you meant to happen? All of them...They're _gone._"

Orphan laughed as the creatures inched closer to Balthier, and Lightning had to look away when they started to slam their arms into him. But he didn't resist against their anger; he allowed them to hurt him. He was knocked to the floor, blood splattering from his lips as he coughed violently.

"And this...is what I get for choosing salvation?" he asked, his dark eyes searching for Lightning's face amongst the Cie'th. The creatures fell on top of him, and Lightning cried out for him when she saw his hand laying in a pool of blood beneath them.

"Stop it!" she pleaded, covering her ears as Orphan continued to laugh at them both. "_Just stop it_!"

Mist suddenly surrounded her pathetic form, burning her skin, her _mind_. She could feel its power seering through her bones, transforming her skin and body into something far worse. Her claws dug into the floor when she darted across the room, the Mist seething, and she roared in agony at the Cie'th. She had no control; the Cie'th were flung off of Balthier, and she knelt over him when the dust clouds moved away.

Balthier's eyes slowly opened, and his bloody lips parted into a smile when he saw not the face of Lightning, but the face of the incomplete Ragnarok staring down at him. But then, the life fading from his once daring eyes, his head fell back against the floor and his last breath left him.

"Salvation is born of sacrifice," Orphan called. "Miracles of misery! From shattered shards, a new crystal of legend will arise."

Lightning's head shot up at the sound of the two-toned voice, and she charged toward the being that had taken her _life_ away from her. The magick shield shattered in her grasp, and she cried out when Mist stung her mind once more.

"Yes! Let anger be your strength! Despair! Despair and save us all!"

When the crystals flew away from her view, Feolthanos appeared in Orphan's place and held out his arms to her. Calling her to him. Lightning screamed, her mind already lost, and bit down on his neck.

**

* * *

**

Ragnarok disappeared in a flash of light when Snow dropped the Sword of Kings and fell to the floor. The towering auralith began to crack, and Ashe rushed to his side as they both looked up. The others stared up at it as well, but it was Llyud who was the first to look away.

"Feolthanos is falling," he said. "Which means the end is near."

Snow almost smiled, watching the Sword of Kings return to its original form as the ragnarok blade, and let his head rest of the Queen's shoulder.

"Where do you think they are?" Vaan asked. "Balthier and Lightning."

Penelo shrugged, her lips forming into a gentle grin. "Knowing them, they're already where we need to be. Waiting for us."

**

* * *

**

It was the soft feeling of the carbuncle's tongue against her skin that woke her up, despite the cold returning to her body as her skin healed. Serah pawed Lightning's ear when her eyes opened, and the familiar non-existent feeling of death came over her senses. She could feel the gentle flowers underneath her, and the fog caressed her hands. When she turned over onto her side, Balthier was lying next to her, almost like he was sleeping again.

"Balthier," she whispered, reaching forward and touching his face. His eyes didn't open, nor did he smirk at her like he usually would. Lightning rested her forehead against his, holding both of his hands in her own. She allowed her eyes to close, and the sounds of the mist crawling slowly left in silence.

Balthier's warm, soothing hand pressed itself against her cheek, drawing her close until their lips met. Lightning opened her eyes to his smirk, and she tried her best not to smile. She never was the best at hiding her feelings, unfortunately.

"Remind to never get into the gods' damn business again," he murmured, and Lightning couldn't help but laugh.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Feolthanos appeared from the shadows, stepping through the field and walking toward the pair as they stood up. Lightning kept a hand in front of Balthier, and Serah hissed quietly from where she stood at their feet.

"_Eternal warrior from the other world, who walks with humes. Take up your sword. Face me in glory._"

Her lips quirked into a tight scowl. "And what then?" she asked.

"_Your anima will be mine._"

"Really. Then you've got some problems you need working out." She pulled out her gunblade, stepping a few paces toward the winged god. "All you do is take and receive, expecting everyone to bow down to you...Well, guess what?" She raised her weapon and tilted her head to the side, seeing Balthier's smirk widen. "I'm not bowing to _anyone_!"

**

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**

_One more chapter, and then the epilogue~_


	12. Savior

**Author's Note:** _I guess I should have warned everyone that this story was ending so soon! I have no idea how long the Tactics one will be, but it'll probably be about the same length as _**So Starstruck**_, maybe even _**Bad Bromance**._ I'm still figuring out that story...Argh, endings. Why must you hate meeee._

_**The Giant Daifuku**__, __**HopelessRomanticist**__ and __**Joshua Chung**__ (I missed you!), let's see how many allusions you can catch to the previous stories in this series. ;) I think there's...two? Three, maybe?  
_

**

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**

**R** e v e n a n t

Chapter Twelve

Savior

Black wings flew past the pair after the summoning circle appeared, and Lightning grabbed Balthier by the arm when she dodged the beam of light sent from the esper Bahamut. Feolthanos stood at the other end of the field of flowers, having summoned a being to do his work for him. Lightning almost thought about calling the god a coward, but there wasn't much time left. Not for her, not for Balthier, not even Feolthanos. Why else would she have woken up in the world made for only the dead?

Balthier seemed to not understand what was going to happen, though she didn't blame him. Losing his anima and getting it back again in a matter of few days would make anyone stay confused for a long time.

Bahamut lunged for them again, and this time Lightning was ready. While the sharp claws wrapped around the hilt of her gunblade, she leaped onto its back and gripped onto its wings to hold it back. Fomalhaut aimed at the ready, Balthier took one step back and shot the monster between the eyes. It flew into the clouds, roaring, and Lightning jumped from its back, grabbing her gunblade at the same time, and soared back down to the field.

She landed on her feet right in front of Feolthanos, though each step she took to get closer, he seemed to be moving farther and farther away. Gritting her teeth, she continued to run after him. Yet she nearly lost her balance when she realized she was standing at the edge of the field, staring down at the gray abyss below.

"_You could be so much more. Yet it is your ties to humes that hold you back._"

"Show yourself, you coward!" she called out, and Balthier stood at her side. "Face me like the so-called god you are!"

"_I think not._"

The esper returned, flying directly at the two, and Balthier turned around in time to shoot Bahamut one last time. It withered into small clouds of Mist, and with a sigh, the sky pirate looked toward Lightning and shrugged.

"At least send a more challenging foe next time..." he murmured, resting the gun on his shoulder. Serah crawled over and looked up at the two, just as Feolthanos appeared within the mist.

"_I know what it is you seek, daughter of Etro_," he said, walking toward them in the fog. "_You are an Eternal, blessed with a life of the gods. Yet you wish for another to share that life with you._"

Lightning only nodded.

"_Where you go, he cannot follow. I am sorry._" Feolthanos raised his sword, bowing his head. "_And so I will take away your suffering. I will save you from the pain of loving humes._"

She managed to hold up her gunblade in time to block the blade from hitting both her and Balthier, and, gritting her teeth, she snapped, "Balthier, get back!"

"Oh, gods, woman," Balthier groaned, aiming the fomalhaut over her head. A screech sounded above, and in the shadows of the clouds, Bahamut flew. "Must you always try to take my role from me? You take on the filthy esper again while I handle Feolthanos."

The dragon esper dove down again, and the pair narrowly ducked down in time. "Listen, _you_." Lightning grabbed the front of his vest, pulling him close. "It's just me and you here now! Either we pretend that nothing's wrong and let Feolthanos take over our worlds, or you stop complaining and do as I say!"

Despite the current danger around them, it seemed that he was trying his hardest not to laugh. She resisted the temptation to slap sense back into him; maybe the world of the Yarhi had completely messed with his mind since he was only hume?

"You know I do enjoy it when you're angry," Balthier mused, smirking slyly and adjusting his cuffs when she let go of him. "Have it your way, then. No doubt Snow will come charging in here like the fool he is to save me, so go on ahead. Serah," he acknowledged the carbuncle standing by his feet, "and I can handle things here."

Lightning glared at him, and took off running into the mist. When he could no longer hear her foot steps, Balthier looked back as Bahamut sunk down from the sky. Serah mewled quietly, pawing at his boots.

"What? Would you rather I risk losing another one of my nine lives?" He bent down and allowed her to climb up onto his shoulders, only wincing weakly when he felt her claws dig into the back of his neck. "I think I've got a few to spare."

_So you say, Balthier. You were always so certain of everything..._

**

* * *

**

Lightning wasn't too surprised that, when she sauntered out of the mist, she was standing in front of a tall throne. It was embedded with crystal, though unlike the usual pale blue color she was used to, it was a dark crimson crystal. Feolthanos was sitting in the throne, his arms resting in his lap as he stared at his fellow Eternal. The slightly smaller throne beside his only made her even more suspicious.

"So," she called, "here we are. Ready to meet your end, Feolthanos?"

He merely smiled. "_I welcome you, daughter of Etro, to my kingdom in the skies_," he said. "_There has never been another able to come here, as all who attempt die crossing between worlds. You were smart to not let your hume pet follow you._"

"This is only between me and you, no one else. Not even Serah can stop me from getting my revenge."

"_Revenge. Is this all that drives you?_"

"Give or take a few things, yeah. It's not so much my revenge, though." She walked forward, drawing her gunblade again. "You've taken away so much from Ivalice and Lemurés, and even my home, too. You've trapped innocent people in this world to serve your needs. Serah, Velis, Ragnarok...It's my job to save them, and to do that I've gotta kill you."

"_And at the event of my death, you will lose the chance to truly live forever. Only I know that secret. Eternal life shall die with me._"

As Feolthanos rose from his throne, Lightning stepped back and held her gunblade over her shoulders. She dashed forward before he could lunge for her, and she parried his sword the moment it came down on her. The great sword's force pushed her against the throne, her feet skidding across the floor when she was sent backward. Feolthanos pulled back, swinging the sword once more and crashing it against Lightning's blade.

She ignored the quiet snapping of metal when she pushed back, but when she felt her gunblade slipping from her fingers, she knew something was wrong. But she climbed up onto the throne anyway, the beating of black wings strong in her ears, and faced Feolthanos.

"All you have to do is give up and die!" she yelled. "That's it!"

"_No. This world is mine._"

The great sword came toward her, and when she prepared to block it once again, her gunblade shattered. The blade of it was nothing more than jagged pieces of metal on the floor, and the hilt was just a stump in her hand. Without the chance to mourn the loss of her weapon, Lightning looked up at Feolthanos, only to be slapped across the face and sent flying to the floor. She lost her footing when she hit the tile, falling off the platform and barely grabbing the edge in time before she could fall further.

Below the platform she could see dim Mist beginning to form, and Feolthanos calmly walked over, standing above her with his sword pointed at her face. Silence claimed her as it had her sword.

"_You will be the last of our kind, and when that happens, what will you do, daughter of Etro?_" he asked."_She will not save him as She saved you. He is not born of Her world._"

"Do you really think I'll believe that crock?" Lightning hissed, struggling to keep her grip on the ledge.

"_Blinded, you have become. If you truly care for the hume, you will let him die. You will let his life pass as was originally meant._"

She glared up at him. "So you want me to just let him die, and pretend that none of this ever happened? I don't think so!"

Flinging herself from the ledge and watching as Feolthanos' eyes widened in terror, Lightning allowed herself to fall into the Mist. Just as light erupted around her, Odin took her hand and lifted her onto the horse, leaping into the air and landing in front of the throne. She took the Zantetsuken blade from his hand and smirked when Feolthanos looked upon her in sudden fear.

"_I have shown you what you will become if you choose the other path_," he scowled. "_Do you not fear Her?_"

"Her?"

Feolthanos bowed his head. "_She will be our Seraph once more...if you choose it._"

"Seraph?" Lightning pressed the blade against his neck. "What are you going on about now?"

"_You must be wary of the Stones. If you allow yourself to be consumed with grief over the death of the humes, She will find you. And you will die._"

The moment she struck him down, plunging the sword through his chest, the area began to shift back into what it once was: the castle in Eternity's March. Odin faded when he took his sword from her, and Lightning looked at the others when they saw her standing over Feolthanos' form.

Snow was looking between the two of them with a confused yet not-too worried expression, while Balthier, bearing only a few wounds from his fight with Bahamut, kept his eyes focused on only Lightning. A strange light began to surround the fallen aegyl god, and Mydia covered her mouth to stifle a gasp.

"What now, Feolthanos?" Lightning asked, looking down at him. "Are you going to abandon your people to live with the rest of the Eternal in the afterlife?"

"_You are now the last of our kind. The dream of the sky must never die. Will you keep it safe?_"

She nodded. "Yeah. I will."

Feolthanos smiled, looking down at his fading hands. "_This is the end of my journey...but it is not the end of yours. Take it as you can, and do not forget the truth behind our Stones._ _Hist'ry must not repeat again._"

As he flew off into the sky, becoming one with the Mist, Lightning met Balthier's eyes when she faced the others. He offered her a false smile, knowing all too well what she had done. There was no turning back.

**

* * *

**

The building began to shake and tremble, and Vaan quickly led the party down the stairs, careful not to trip, but stopped when something else caught his attention. Yarhi surrounded them, appearing from the shadows and light, and stood between them and the exit where the _Galbana_ laid in wait. The young sky pirate blankly stared at them.

"What are they doing here?" he asked.

Penelo shook her head, wrapping her arms around herself. "This must be good-bye..."

Jumping down from Balthier's arms, Serah pranced toward the other Yarhi and transformed back into her hume form. With a gentle smile, she looked to the group as Velis walked up beside her, back to normal as well. Mydia rushed forward and embraced her lost love, choking out a sob when his arms wrapped around her.

"S-serah?" Snow exclaimed and pushed past Vaan and Penelo, approaching his ex-wife. "You...You were that carbuncle the entire time?"

Balthier rolled his eyes. "You mean that you couldn't tell by the color of her fur? The way she followed you, myself and Light around the ship?" he asked. "By the gods, Ice, are you dense?"

"_Thank you, everyone,_" Serah spoke, much like the way all the godly beings did. "_The Yarhi can be free now._"

"So this is it, isn't it?" Lightning bit her lower lip, glancing away from her younger sister's translucent eyes. "This is good-bye."

"_Not so much, sis. I'll still be around, watching you. Someone needs to keep an eye on you - and Snow and Balthier, of course._"

Filo looked at the Yarhi-girl uneasily, then to Llyud, who was standing between her and Kytes. "What will happen to Lemurés? And the aegyl?"

"_Lemurés__ is free once more,_" Velis answered, keeping a protective arm around Mydia's shoulders. "_And the aegyl will choose another home in the skies._"

"We'll choose how to shape our future," Llyud agreed. "This is what Feolthanos truly wanted, isn't it?"

The younger Farron nodded. "_And that's what you'll do._" Serah turned toward Snow as he hesitantly walked toward her, and she looked upon him with near-teary eyes. "_Snow, thank you. For everything you've done._"

He had the same look in his eyes as he had when he'd said good-bye to Lightning on the _Palamecia_. Taking ahold of one of her small hands, Snow tried his best to smile. "Serah, there's just...so _much_ I want to say," he breathed, closing his eyes. "I just...I miss you. And I'm sorry that I've...forgotten all that I did for you. Forgotten what we had - together."

"_It's all right_," she assured him, and he opened his eyes. "_I trust you to take care of Ashe as you would me. The hero has to protect his Queen, right?_"

Snow nodded, and Serah stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. When she pulled away from him, she found Lightning's longing gaze and immediately embraced her older sister. Lightning's arms weakly wrapped around Serah's frame, pulling her close. "_Claire? Everything is going to be all right. You'll see. I promise - you'll be okay._"

"I know," Lightning murmured, knowing exactly what her sister meant. When they parted, Balthier walked up beside her and rested his arm around her shoulders, watching as both Serah and Velis walked with each other and the other Yarhi into the light.

As the party moved to leave the castle, the stepping of bare feet came toward them from the shadows, and Lightning spun around to see Ragnarok, in hume form, walking toward them all.

"Ragnarok?"

Seeing him there, even though he was going to be leaving her, made Lightning realize how much she would miss him. Ragnarok was standing right in front of her, Balthier and Snow, and she heard Vaan murmur to Penelo about how much the man looked like Balthier. Even the sky pirate himself wouldn't deny the resemblance.

"_I wanted to bid all of you farewell, and apologize for all the unfortunate trouble I've caused_," Ragnarok sighed. "_I understand that what you've seen of me is not the most pleasant of things to experience._"

Snow scoffed, smirking. "Trying to kill us a bunch of times isn't a walk in the park, I'll tell you that much."

"_But it is now the past - meant to be left behind as we continue on._" He looked at Balthier, one eyebrow quirked upward. "_Isn't that how you would put it?_"

"Something like that, I suppose," Balthier answered, chuckling.

"_A shame that I can't stay for too long._" Ragnarok eyed their faces, their differing expressions. "_It would have been nice to know the lot of you. Though, I must admit, seeing you through the eyes of another is quite different from how I see you now._"

Vaan scuffed his foot on the floor, trying his best to not look the man directly in the eyes. "So...You're not all bad, are you?"

"_I disliked the gods who kept me under their control, not the humes they called their puppets._"

"The Occuria, Feolthanos, the fal'Cie...Are they all gone, now?"

Ragnarok shrugged his shoulders. "_There are others out there, but I'm sure that you'll find a way to end their lives as well. The gods underestimate what humes are capable of._" He faced Snow, and the taller man looked as if he didn't know exactly what to say. "_I do hope I didn't cause too much damage to your life. But, I'll be honest, Snow. You're a fool._"

While Snow stared at the man, jaw dropped, and Ashe tried to comfort him, Ragnarok turned to Balthier and, much to everyone's surprise, embraced the sky pirate. Filo tried to stifle her giggle, but wasn't very successful.

"_If it were not for you, I would still be in my cage_," Ragnarok murmured. "_The Occuria, as hard as it is to admit this, were right about you, Ffamran. You were the only one who could save me._"

Clearly uncomfortable, Balthier lightly patted the man's shoulder. "You're welcome?" he said, both of his eyebrows raised.

Ragnarok let go of him, and moved his attention complete and wholly to the one woman he had cared for in his life. He bent down on one knee in front of Lightning, taking her hand in his own and pressing a gentle kiss against her cold skin. "_Lady Claire. Perhaps, in another life, you and I will meet once more._"

She said nothing, but smiled faintly when he stood up and met her eyes. Ragnarok turned away from them all, and for the last time in her life, Lightning watched him walk away into the dim light before closing her eyes.

"Good-bye..."

**

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**

The Isles of Lemurés began to crumble, breaking apart and disappearing into the small amount of Mist left behind as the remaining aegyl gathered to bid their home farewell. Llyud flew past Vaan and Penelo, who stood upon the roof of the _Strahl_ with the others, and looked back at them once more. He waved, smiling, and then soared off into the distance to join his brethren. Lightning could hear the young Filo start to cry, and both Kytes and Tomaj attempted to cheer her up before she could choke Nono with her tearful hug.

Snow looked over at Lightning and met her eyes, and she gave him one nod and a smile. He grinned widely, and Ashe walked up beside him, softly taking his hand in her own. Basch gazed toward Vaan and Penelo as they stood close to each other, watching their _Galbana_ fly into the skies and leaving them. And then, Lightning faced the two sky pirates standing away from the others.

Fran flipped her pale hair over her shoulder, though her dark eyes didn't watch the Isles dissipate before them. Balthier stared ahead of himself with a regretful look on his tawny face, and at first he didn't notice the two women watching him. He hesitantly stared back at Lightning, and all he could give her was a small smirk and a shrug. She cast her eyes toward her feet, but she smiled wistfully when she heard his footsteps leave, and turning her eyes upward, she looked to the sky.

**

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**

_The epilogue is next~_


	13. Epilogue: Can We Be Wrong Tonight?

**Author's Note:** _My new favorite song, _Find A Way _by Safetysuit, is what influenced this epilogue. It's also where I got the title for this part, too. Totally my new song to describe Balthier/Lightning, as well as another pairing from the sequel. Look up the lyrics; it's so...angsty. Just like this pairing. And, yes, this epilogue faintly alludes to the events of the final story, which is why this seems very...out of place. But it's intentional, I assure you!  
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**R** e v e n a n t

Epilogue

Can We Be Wrong Tonight?

_Fourteen years later..._

"How much longer are you going to be sitting there? Fran's getting impatient, and I don't think you want her to start going through a not-Mist-induced rage and ruin your precious _Strahl_."

When Lightning walked up behind him, Balthier kept his dark gaze focused on the headstone in front of him. A lanky and bare tree with withered leaves hanging off its branches was standing only a short distance away from the grave and the two staring at it. Lightning sat down beside the sky pirate, folding her legs underneath her and leaning most of her weight on her right arm. She looked over his shoulder. The headstone read '_Old man_' in poorly scratched lettering, worn and spent. Beneath it, however, in neat and formal printing, was the name '_Cidolfus Demen Bunansa_'. In his hands Balthier held a metal pick, and blew off the last of the dust from its tip.

"I think Fran can wait a little longer," he murmured, tossing the pick aside. "It's only once a year that I visit this spot."

"And seventeen years after his death, this is only your second time visiting his grave. Right?"

Balthier sent a glare in her direction, but couldn't help smiling. "Hush, woman."

He turned his attention back to the headstone, and Lightning caught the near-distant look in his eyes. She thought about touching his shoulder, but then she remembered how much the cold feeling of her hands bothered him. Instead, she rubbed her hands together to warm them up, and then took hold of his hand.

Fourteen years had passed since the day Feolthanos died, and the day Ragnarok finally found his peace. Lightning remained as she had they day she 'died', but Balthier was already approaching the point in his life where he was mistaken as being her father rather than her lover. He was careful to hide the more obvious gray hairs on his head, but even he couldn't deny the tired look in his eyes. Mentally, he felt like he was still in his thirties, but due to how much Ragnarok had messed with his body years before, he was older than he was meant to be.

She tried to tell him that everything was going to be okay, but after a while, she gave up on trying to convince even herself.

Maybe it was knowing that Snow was off fighting in the war that prompted Balthier's sudden need to visit his father's grave; as much as he hated admitting it, he worried about that blond fool. Rozarria was after the Lord Larsa's throne, and, to protect not only Archadia but Dalmasca as well, Snow went off with Basch to fight. As King-Consort it was his duty to join the battle, but Lightning liked to think that all he was really doing was protecting his Queen and his family.

"As much as I love visiting this place," Lightning breathed, resting her head on Balthier's shoulder, "we really should get back to the _Strahl_. We promised Vaan and Penelo we'd help them with that Hunt Club, remember?"

Balthier chuckled. "I think you just refuse to admit that the old man is technically your father-in-law."

"We're not married, Balthier."

"We could be."

She rolled her eyes, lightly slapping his cheek once. "You know, Fran was right. You've got only one thing on your mind these days."

"Don't you?" His eyebrow arched when he turned toward her. "One of these days you're going to have to admit how you feel about me."

"I'm not sure that having this discussion over your father's grave is appropriate..."

"Trust me, the old man would be laughing at me if he were here."

Lightning stood up and stretched out her arms, looking toward the sun set behind the trees. It was her favorite thing to do, watching the sun set from the _Strahl_. Having Balthier there with her was a plus, even if Fran occasionally made a quiet comment about the two of them staying out there until morning. The viera was more observant than she was credited.

The skirt of her dress blew gently in the wind, and, sighing, she folded her arms across her chest. The dress, of course, was something Mydia picked out for her before she left for the Roda Volcano. The fabric was soft against her skin, even if she couldn't necessarily feel it, and the pale brown color blended in with their surroundings. She found herself wearing dresses more often, unless she was with the two sky pirates on a hunt, and Balthier occasionally would simply stare at her whenever she wore one.

"It seems like it has been only a short time since we met," Balthier suddenly stated, and Lightning cast her eyes down at him. "If I hadn't found my way to you, what do you think may have happened? Would anything have changed for us? Our worlds?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." She tugged at the belt around her waist, where the blood sword, the replacement for her old gunblade, hung. "Maybe nothing would have changed. But, don't you think the way it is now is better than anything else?"

"But things will change, once I'm gone."

He got to his feet, dusting off the front of his blouse and sighing deeply. Around his neck was her lightning-bolt charm, much like how she wore his piece of the Cache as a necklace; the others, mainly Snow, joked that by wearing each others prized charms, the two of them were unofficially married. Lightning always had to correct him on that.

She watched him turn around, looking to his air ship. One of Fran's annoyed, twitching ears was visible through the front window, even from such a far distance.

"What makes you say that?" she asked, keeping her voice quiet.

The distant look in his eyes appeared again, though this time he didn't even try to hide it. "Just a feeling. Perhaps I am only worried for your well-being. You might become a sheltered hermit. And then, who knows, someone might try to steal you from me the moment I die."

"Don't say that." Lightning stood right in front of him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "We promised not to think of that until...until it happens. Okay?" She forced a small smile. "Let's just deal with now, all right?"

Balthier placed his hands over hers, the warmth comforting them both. "All right. Just promise me that you'll be careful. I'd...rather not know that something terrible may happen to you when I'm not around."

"Promise." She leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning her head against his. His warm embrace calmed her tense mind, but even then she knew that, someday, the warmth would no longer be there. "Don't think that I'm ready to let you go so soon. You may be the leading man, still, but you belong to me. No one else."

He nodded his head, moving his arms away from her and looking at the _Strahl_ again. "Unless I'm mistaken, it would seem that you're implying something, my dear," he stated, smirking like he used to. "Am I right?"

Lightning said nothing and only took hold of his hand, banishing the space between the two of them for what she wished was eternity.

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_And here we are at the end of another story. To think, this wasn't even supposed to be written! This series was meant to be a trilogy, and now look what's going on. There's one more story in this series, and then, hopefully, that'll be the end. I know, I know. I wish it wouldn't end, either..._

_As always, I thank my wonderfully amazing and awesome reviewers for supporting me through this story: __**The Giant Daifuku**__, __**Joshua Chung**__ and __**Hopeless Romanticist**__! I love you guys. Let us continue to remain epic, yes?_

_I feel like such a creeper writing all the stories in the FFXII/FFXIII section...Anyways, the final story will be called _**Time's Scar**_, and it will be listed in the Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XIII Crossover section. So, if you want me to send you a message when the first chapter is posted, then I shall._

_There won't be a preview of the next story, since, well, I don't want to give too much away about the plot! The finale must be amazing, and to be amazing means to be a surprise. ;)  
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_And so...Onward to the next story!_

_-Cherri_


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